California Bound
by Mrs. H Potter
Summary: Ron and Hermione's life: California style as well as little Willa growing up. sequel to Paris. R&R! Hermione's pov.
1. Steps Away

**A/n: Hello again all who read my stories. First, I want to start by thanking every single person who has reviewed for any of my stories. Whether it was through all four previous stories or just recently. You guys keep me writing!! Thanks!!**

**Second...did everyone see the movie? OMG I loved it but what did you guys think? The fifth book was my favorite and I think they did the best job with the time they had. **

**Thirdly, ok the book is coming out on the twenty-first. I don't want to say that I'm not going to update until after the book comes out but this chapter took me a while to write (and it didn't come out how I wanted it) and I want to get the second and third one done before I post again. Also because I'm afraid I might be too depressed to write. I have complete faith in JK Rowling to finish up the books in the best way but still...someones going to die. After the sixth book I was bummed for a few days but this is that last one and...I probably sound completely crazy but basically my point it that it's possible there won't be another update until after the book comes out. **

**Fourth, the house and house area where they live is modeled after my Aunt and Uncle's house in California and the character, Jenna, that you will meet is modeled after my Aunt. Looks wise she's a complete opposite but her personality was what was similar and the organic thing...you'll understand when you read so I'll stop now.**

**And finally, with this story I tried something a little new. Each chapter is going to start out with a little narraration (sp?) by Hermione. It's still first person pov. but she's going to say something at the beginning and the end that kind of introduces the chapters and concludes the chapters...if I'm making any sense. You'll see. **

**Well here we are, onto my favorite place in the world and hopefully where I'll be living after I graduate!**

**Always,  
****Kylie**

_Every step you take, is a step away from where you used to be. -Brian Chargualaf. _

I have just recently discovered that life is unpredictable. It takes you all over the place and where you're left standing is where you were meant to be. At twenty years old I have yet to finish living. I have, however opened a successful business, published a book, gotten married, moved to a foreign country, had a baby, published another book, and moved yet again. It has been said in articles about me and my books or by friends and family that I've accomplished everything possible in a lifetime…at twenty years old. I disagree with them. Yes, I have done a lot in my twenty years of life but no, I don't believe I experienced everything possible in life.

I can check fallen in love off my list as well as start a family but for the rest of the checks on my list I have time. I have all the time in the world to do things that truly make life worth living. I can watch my daughter grow up, love my husband forever and ever, and let life take me where it's going to take me.

Two summers ago I was a seventeen-year-old girl in love who didn't quite have life figured out. I went to finish school and came up with a plan and fell even deeper in love. And eventually I followed my husband where his passion took him.

Several steps away from where I was two summers ago, I'm now sitting on the back porch of my new house. I am not the same girl at all but I feel like I have truly found the place where I'm meant to be…

I pulled my legs up onto the chair with me and took a drink from the steaming mug of tea in my hands. I had on a large sweater over my pajamas to keep me warm in California's chilly winter air. It wasn't going to be long before Willa began crying but for now I'm enjoying life in the moment.

The first official night was last night. We arrived yesterday morning and after taking a taxi, we got to the house. All of our things were already here and despite how tired I was I began working on organizing the house. The time change was nine hours behind our home in Paris and after a lot of sleep (interrupted several times by Willa) it was mid morning making it an entire day that we had been in California. The fact that I could sit outside on a January morning and not have to wear ten layers of clothes only contributed to my feelings of the beautiful area. Our cozy house was another contributing factor, as was the view of the ocean from the small balcony outside of my room, the beautiful college campus that I would soon be visiting, and just the beauty, comfort, and the feeling like I belonged here in California.

The door into the house slid open and I turned to see a yawning Ron.

"Morning my love." He said with a big smile on his face. Despite how tired he was from the time change I could tell that he was happy here too.

"Good morning!" I said and leaned forward to give him a kiss.

"What're you thinking about?" Ron asked. I smiled.

"Life." I answered simply.

"Life is good." Ron said. He kicked his feet up on the table and stuck his hands behind his head. I laughed.

"It is." I agreed. I looked around at the backyard. It wasn't the biggest but it worked. We lived in a nice little housing area complex type thingy where there was a pool and hot tub just a little bit down the street, and at the bottom of the hill where our line of houses was there's a parking spot where I parked my Volkswagen Jetta. The daycare was in a house just a little further down than the pool and out of the house complex, down the street and a little bit further from there was San Clemente State Beach. The best thing about where we lived was that it was a Wizard neighborhood so we didn't have to worry about hiding certain things from muggles.

Our backyard consisted of a grill and small table right outside of the glass sliding doors that led to the house. And a grass area where Willa could play once she gets older.

"I think we'll like living here." Ron said, surveying the backyard when I did. "I'll have my job and you'll have school, and Willa will grow up in a good place." Ron turned and smiled at me.

"I already love it." I said, smiling back and draining the last sip of tea. "I'll be right back." I told him. I got up and went inside to refill my cup of tea and to get Ron a cup of tea. The doors opened to the living room. The living room had a couch, a recliner, and a nice big wooden coffee table. Behind the couch there was a dining room table and a place setting for four and a baby. Next to the dinning room table there were two barstools set up at the kitchen counter. The kitchen was small but there was room enough for me to cook in there. There were three doors out of the house. One led to the garage where Ron's Chevy TrailBlazer was parked, one led to the fenced in front of the house, and one led to the back porch where we put a grill and a small table. There were stairs that led upstairs where the bedrooms and a second bathroom were. It wasn't a very big house; it had two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, a decent sized living room/dinning room, a small kitchen, and a place for us to sit either in the front or the back. We were comfortable here and Midnight liked it here as well; she was lazing on the recliner.

I came back out of the porch where I found Ron fiddling with the grill.

"Never used one of these things before. But it could be interesting to cook on." Ron said.

"Good well you can make dinner tonight." I said. Ron smiled.

"I'll get on that as soon as I get back." Ron said. He had to stop into the California Gazette office at noon to get things started. Willa and I were going to go find Sparks Street, which was like the Diagon Alley of San Clemente. We were going to get an idea of what was around and I wanted to see if either of my books were in a bookstore over here.

For a few minutes we sat in the sunny, chilly backyard discussing our future in California and what our lives were going to be like. That was until the baby monitor projected Willa's cry through it.

x

And hour later Willa was in her car seat, I was sitting in the driver's seat, and I spent the last five minutes trying to get the nerve to start the car. Ron had driven past us two minutes ago off to work. I was trying to assure myself that Willa would be safe driving. She was buckled in and just sucking on he pacifier.

"Ayallayaaaayaaa." Willa yammered on in her baby talk. I smiled and looked into the rearview mirror at the backseat. Taking a deep breath I started the car and slowly backed out of the parking space. When Willa didn't cry or fuss and her car seat stayed still I continued to drive forward on the opposite side of the road than I would have in England.

We made it out of the house complex and down the road (slowly). I followed the directions that I had gotten before we moved and parked in front of an old souvenir shop that was hidden away from muggles. I transferred Willa from the car seat to her stroller and gathered everything we would need.

I pushed the stroller into the old shop that was empty except for an old man dressed in a t-shirt that advertised San Clemente who sat behind the register looking as if he were asleep. The man looked paler than anyone else I'd seen in California so far.

"Welcome to San Clemente Souvenirs." The man said in a raspy voice upon noticing I was here. Strangely he still looked like he was asleep. "Can I assume that you're here for the Sparks Street entrance since I haven't sold an actual knickknack, t-shirt, or even a measley shell in ten years?"

"Um." I said, noticing the door labeled _Sparks Street_ and wondering if there was a way to slip through and avoid the talking. "I was just going to Sparks Street." I felt bad about the not selling a thing in ten years part. "But on my way out I was planning on purchasing a t-shirt for a friend who lives in Paris."

"New to the area?" The man asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"From England?" He questioned, noticing that I did not have an American accent. I felt bad for the man who didn't seem like he talked to anyone much during the day, let alone got out much.

"Originally but then it was Paris for a year and now we're here for good." I said. I took a step forward to leave but he didn't seem to be finished with the conversation.

"You look familiar. Are you famous? We don't get many of the famous crowd here. Usually they stay in the L.A. area." He noted. "Although some of the famous crowd come to smaller towns to get away." He went on, looking at me as if he were trying to remember.

"I wrote two books." I offered, doubting that this was the reason he thought I looked familiar. To me it looked as if his eyes weren't even open so I doubted he even saw me clearly.

"No, no." He said, scratching his chin. "I remember seeing your face in a newspaper article." I had been in several but those had been for my books. There were the ones during the middle of sixth year right after the war that had most likely been all over the world…

"Well I just moved here yesterday. Maybe I just look like someone else." I didn't really feel like getting into the past. I refused to do interviews and talk much about the books of the past I was writing. It was hard enough writing the first one about the Sorcerer's Stone. It was going to keep getting more difficult through each book. "Thank you but we've got to get going. We'll be back." The man nodded and turned back to the newspaper on his desk. He would know who I was soon enough.

I pushed Willa's stroller through the door labeled _Sparks Street_ and we walked out onto a sunny street. I made sure that Willa's delicate baby skin was safe from the sun and warm enough from the chill before pushing a pair of sunglasses over my nose and beginning the walk down the street.

Another thing I loved about California was that people were simpler in the way they dressed rather than in Pairs where everyone was always dressed to the nines. I didn't feel like I would stand out if I wore a pair of jeans, a white hooded top over a pink camisole, my Ugg boots, and a jean jacket. My hair was up in a ponytail and left my face make-up free. I tried to go for the casual but still fashionable in California. It was nice for once to feel comfortable and not worry about standing out. Willa was also in the comfortable but stylish look with a little red dress and black leggings. She had on her own little jean jacket as well as a sweater underneath that. We were ready to explore Sparks Street!

A little bit down the street I stopped at a newsstand where I picked up a copy of _Magical Parenting_ and _In Style Witch_. I decided that I could be a mother as well as a stylish Californian Witch. There were ways to compromise the twenty-year-old mother thing. I stuck the magazines under the stroller and continued my walk. Willa began fussing so I stopped at a bench and pulled her out of her stroller. In my arms she stopped crying and grabbed onto my fingers. Eventually I got a pacifier out of the diaper bag and Willa was calm again. When I saw her yawn I knew she would be falling asleep any second for her early afternoon nap.

"Night little girl." I said, kissing her forehead and placing her back in her stroller. She yawned again and then her gorgeous blue eyes shut.

"Adorable." I heard someone say behind me. I turned around to see a woman standing behind the bench, looking at Willa.

"Yes, she is. Thank you." I said, being polite. Behind her I noticed a bookstore called _The Book Loft_. Here was the bookstore I had been looking for.

"How old is she?" The woman asked. She had a friendly smile and kind light blue eyes. She had blond hair that fell just past her shoulders and a pair of sunglasses resting on top of her head. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a black wrap sweater.

"Willa's just a little over two months old." I said, smiling.

"Willa is such a pretty name." The woman said. She stuck her hand out. "I'm Jenna."

"It's great to meet you. I'm Hermione." I said, shaking her hand.

"I know." Jenna said, smiling. "I own _The Book Loft_ and I saw you out here, I just had to come say hi." I smiled and felt my cheeks turn slightly red. "We have copies of both of your books in here. It's incredible that you're just twenty years old and you already have two books published."

"I started when I was seventeen." I said. "I like writing about things important to me." That was my usual response when I was asked about it.

"Hermione the first book of your series, _Harry Potter: The Real Story_ was incredible. It's so refreshing to know how everything really happened and I'm sure I'm not the only one who's said this. You've probably done tons of interviews." Jenna said.

"Well, I did a book signing in Paris for some friends and a few brief interviews where I got to pre-approve the questions but no one has honestly said it was good to hear the truth of it."

"Your book sells like crazy." Jenna said. "And everyone who I recommend it to, is dying to know the truth." I smiled.

"Thank you. It means a lot to hear that." I said. Jenna smiled back.

"Want to come in?" Jenna asked gesturing towards _The Book Loft_. "I never usually get to meet the authors of the books we carry." I looked down at Willa who was asleep, the quaint little bookshop, and the woman who was being so kind to me.

"Yes, that would be lovely." I said. Jenna smiled and opened the door. I pushed Willa's stroller into the shop. It was a big shop with a cozy feeling to it. There were a lot of bookshelves and comfy chairs all around. The atmosphere actually reminded me of _R and H Books_ which was another place where I felt comfortable.

"Here, let's sit here." Jenna suggested. We sat down in two chairs by the window.

"This is a great bookshop." I said.

"I've had it for sixteen years." Jenna said, looking around at her shop. I looked at her strangely. Jenna didn't really look old enough to own a shop for sixteen years. I had assumed twenty-five at the youngest maybe thirty but still…she had it since she was fourteen? "I'm thirty-eight." Jenna answered to my confused expression.

"You don't look thirty-eight." I said, blatantly. Jenna laughed.

"Everyone asks me what my secret is." Jenna said. "I just take care of myself, exercise regularly, and eat organic food."

"Wow." I said. "That's one hell of a secret." Jenna laughed.

"Well enough about me I want to know about you." Jenna said.

"Me? I'm twenty years old. I have a beautiful baby daughter, a wonderful husband, I own a bookstore in England, I wrote two books, and am currently working on the third. That's my life story in a few words."

Jenna asked me more questions about me and my life. I told her about the Gazette, Paris, school, and my bookshop. After I was done talking about me, I asked her about hers. I bonded really well with this woman; we had a lot in common. Jenna owned a bookstore, married at a young age, loved life in California, and wrote books as well. She's published one in her late twenties called _Being Organic_ another one in her early thirties called _My Happy Life_ (talking about her life, her successes, her husband of seventeen years, and how she lives a happy life as she gets closer to forty), and most recently a book called _Ageing Gracefully_. I learned a lot about her during our talk. Jenna was all about living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of herself and her husband who she's still madly in love with. She never had any children but has a lot of nieces and nephews on the east coast.

"AhaayaaaAHaaa." Willa said from her stroller, interrupting the conversation. I lifted her out and held her close to me but she kept fussing.

"Come and visit any time you want. You're always welcome here." Jenna said as she walked me to the door.

"It was really great to meet you Jenna. I promise Willa and I will be back." I assured her as I placed the pacifier that fell from Willa's mouth back in.

"Let me know if you need anything. I'm always here." Jenna said.

"Thanks." I smiled before turning to leave with a copy of all three of her books. I had signed mine and she had signed hers. It was nice to have already made a friend in California.

Willa calmed down on the walk a little bit but I knew we were going to have to head home soon. She was going to need to be fed, changed, and put down in her crib for a real nap.

x

Two hours later Willa had been napping for an hour and I was sitting on the couch a quarter of the way through Jenna's first book. Willa and I had grocery shopped and drove by the beach to check it out. I was expecting Ron home with a movie in an hour and Willa would be up by then anyways. Tiredly, I tiled my head back against the arm of the couch where Midnight was laying. I shut my eyes and the book fell from my hands. Just as I was transitioning from awake to semi-asleep, I heard my cell phone go off.

"Hey Gin." I said into the phone, doing some quick mental math to figure out that it was one a.m. in Paris. "Up for an early feeding?"

"Early, late…whatever." Ginny responded with a yawn.

"And how is that beautiful baby girl of yours?" I asked.

"Beautiful." Ginny answered. She perked up slightly. "We went on our first Paris outing today. Lily-Lyn loves Paris."

"I'm sure. She's just like her mum." I responded, sleepily smiling to someone who couldn't even see me.

"How is California?" Ginny asked.

"The greatest. And I made a friend today." I informed Ginny. "She's really cool and she owns this amazing bookstore. She's thirty-eight and has all this life in her. She's traveled all over with her husband and she's written books. Gin, this woman knows the secret to looking young forever."

"Oh, please share. I'm starting to look nineteen instead of eighteen. It's the dark circles under my eyes." Ginny joked. I laughed.

"You'd love it here. I mean, if you hadn't already found home in Paris, you'd be moving in next door." I said.

"I wish I could but I'm already in love with Paris." Ginny answered dreamily. "I even found a place for my boutique in France." Ginny informed me what I had missed in the one day I was gone and then I told her all about my house. Unfortunately she fell asleep at the end and I didn't even realize until Harry came on the line. I began catching up with him until Ron came home.

Nearly ten minutes after her daddy walked in, Willa began crying. Ron was happy to go change her and bring her back downstairs. She lay in her playpen watching Midnight watch her while Ron and I got dinner ready. I told him all about Jenna (it was the explanation for all of the fruits and organically stocked refrigerator as well as the books on the table) and Ron told me about the California Gazette. Apparently they had casual Fridays and the people were really friendly and easy to get along with.

After dinner (for us and Willa), we put Willa down to sleep and Ron and I sat out on the balcony right off of our bedroom watching the sunset. It was small, only big enough for two chairs and for Midnight to curl up in a corner but it was cozy.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked as I watched Ron look up at the sunset as if he were thinking about something. Ron turned and looked at me with a smile.

"Just how much I love you." Ron answered.

"Seriously." I said. Ron chuckled.

"Honestly, I was just thinking about how fast we had to grow up." Ron answered. "At least five of the people I met today pointed out to me that I've done so much in almost twenty years. Part of it was going through what we did at school and part of it was getting married and having a baby."

"Do you feel like you're missing out on something?" I questioned.

"No, no. It's not like that." Ron assured me. "I was just wondering what's left?" I opened my mouth to respond but I wasn't sure how to answer.

"Everything." I finally decided. "We've got Willa, you're going to be a big time newspaper guy, I'll be a teacher and years from now we'll still have each other." I turned my gaze to the setting sun. "And if we can't think of anything else to do in the next twenty years we can always go to Disney Land when we get bored." Ron chuckled but then his expression was serious.

"We'll still go to Disney Land even if we do all that stuff you said before…right?" Ron asked. I laughed.

"Of course Ron. Willa and I know how much fun you'll have there." I said. Ron smiled and leaned over to kiss me. I decided not to point out to him that there was still some growing up to do but I kissed him back and the next thing I knew, I was trying to slide open the door to the bedroom while my lips were caught in Ron's and his arms were wrapped around me.

There was so much done in the first twenty years of our lives…but there was so much to do in the next twenty as well…and the twenty after that. And we still had to make Willa's first twenty memorable as well.

Several steps and an ocean away from our original life in a small apartment in London with regular jobs, going dancing every week we were now parents who had lived in Paris, become successful with our chosen careers, have a decent sized house, and go to Willa's doctor once a week. As we adjusted to having a baby around things would change again. Some things would go back to normal and some would never be the same.

Ron and I had our whole lives ahead of us and living was exactly what we were going to do here in our new home, California…

**a/n: ok, no lie. this is a true story. I went to California in March and came back and showed the pictures to my friends. Every single one of them said "ooo your Uncle's hot" and I was thinking 'ew, he's my uncle and he's thirty-seven' so when I told them this, everyone said that he and my aunt didn't look like they were thirty-eight and thirty-seven. And it's true because they take care of themselves like Jenna said. I wanted someone to introduce Hermione into this kind of lifestyle which, in my opinion, is _the_ California lifestyle (ok not _the _lifestyle but the lifestyle that I want Ron and Hermione to have and pass on to their daughter) with all the organic food and stuff. But Jenna will end up as Hermione's mentor and this was her intro into the story. Other new characters will be introduced within the next few chapters. **

**I hope you all liked it!! Please review and let me know! I promise I'll update as soon as I can. Oh and let me know what you thought of the fifth movie. Evannah (sp?) was brilliant as Luna. She was the absolute perfect person to play her and Unbridge..well she was a bitch but that's what she is. My favorite part was when Ron tried to hit Grawp with the tree branch to save Hermione. It was cute. **

**Send me e-mails after you read the seventh book if you want. I want to talk about it afterwards but none of my friends read Harry Potter excpet one (that's you Bec!) and my dad takes forever to read so please e-mail me if you want to talk about it!!! **

**Always,  
Kylie**


	2. Education

**a/n: Hi again! Ok so I finished two a few days ago and just finished three. I'm going to start on four but if I get enough reviews I'll update with three as soon as I can.**

**And now onto...did everyone read Deathly Hallows? I got it at midnight and stayed awake until I finished it at four in the afternoon! If not DH SPOILER WARNING skip to the next paragraph. What did you all think? I was so sad when Dobby and Fred and Tonks and Lupin died. I mean all the other deaths were sad too but these were the worst. And the part where Hermione was being tortured and Ron was calling out her name...so sad. but on a lighter note the kiss was perfect and they get married and have kids!! Rose and Hugo (interesting name for their son...)!! But I know what I thought. What were all your favorite parts? Least favorite? Did everyone hear that JK Rowling was going to make a Harry Potter Encyclopedia (sp?) about the backgrounds of chracters and a little more detail on their future? I can't wait!!**

**So here's chapter two...this one was difficult to write. It took me a while to finish it and it's pretty long. It took up ten pages on word. But anyways, please review!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you. –B.B. King_

It's said that you learn something knew everyday. I believe this to be true considering since I've become a parent I have learned something about taking care of my daughter every day. This is useful knowledge and I cherish it but it's slightly different than school knowledge. There's this feeling you get when you've finally mastered that tricky spell or found the meaning behind that reading passage you were assigned to analyze, or being able to learn what had made our magical society what it is today. The classroom, the bookshelves lining the walls, the desks, the blackboard, the maps on the walls and dusty textbooks that hold the secrets to all the information you wish to know. This kind of learning differs from the every day learning. It's refreshing and exciting…learning facts and history, sorting out numbers and learning the proper spells to defend yourself. There's nothing like being taught something…or even teaching something.

But what about the every day kind of knowledge; the kind that Willa is given each day she grows and learns. Will she laugh for the first time and I'll miss it? Will she cry because there's something unfamiliar that I'm not there to explain to her? Will she learn something without me? In pursuing my own education these questions run through my head about my baby's. Mostly I'm worried for her to be somewhere unfamiliar and I'm worried for me because I don't want her to move on to a different stage in life without me.

I've decided to place 'being away from my daughter and leaving her somewhere unfamiliar for the first time' under the category of everyday knowledge. It's something that must be learned and although it does not have the same satisfying feeling as watching her face as I explain the different colors to her, it is something that we must go through. At least that's what I've been trying to convince myself and Ron for a while now…

San Clemente Wizard College (also referred to as SCWC) was beautiful. It was open and in the sun…it was a pretty big college too. That Friday after we moved, Ron took over watching Willa while I went to go sign up for classes.

At first I just wandered around the campus, taking it all in and watching the students. Could this college life replace the things that I did daily with my daughter? It took me a while but I finally got up the courage to walk into the admissions office, ten minutes later than when my appointment was scheduled.

I took all of the second semester classes that were required of me as well as two classes of my own choosing (one on French – I might have left Paris but I was still determined to understand the language – and one on magical literature).

There was a lot of paperwork to fill out the third time around. I had to give them my paperwork from the Paris school and fill out some new papers…blah…blah. It was all the boring stuff that included general information and payment options. Payment was the only thing that was different because instead of having the Gazette take care of the whole thing, I was paying half from incoming money from my recent book publication. It felt good to be paying part of my own education (the other half was being paid by a grant from the Gazette).

Classes started next Tuesday; I had two classes in the morning and afternoon on Tuesday, one class on Wednesday morning, three classes on Thursday spread throughout the day, and two on Friday in the morning and late after noon.

Along with my schedule I received a list of books that I needed, which I why I was walking through the sunny (but still chilly…it was January after all) campus to go and visit _The Book Loft_. There were students all around. Some were talking; holding books; sitting down and reading; walking from classes wearing _SCWC_ sweatshirts or t-shirts. I smiled seeing the black and red t-shirts and found my way up the stairs to the campus store.

After picking up an _SCWC_ t-shirt for Ron, Willa, and myself I left the beautiful campus that I would be returning to on Tuesday, got back in to my car, and headed for _The Book Loft._

x

First days were always nerve-racking but when you're a new mum, about to leave your baby with strangers for the first time to go to school it was so much worse. I tried to put the thought of leaving my baby behind me, as I got ready for school.

Yesterday I had gotten my haircut; the first time since I found out I was going to have Willa. It was now short…very short compared to what I'm used to. It fell just above my shoulders layers and bangs to the side. The curls remained although they were slightly more wavy than curly. I stuck a black headband on top of my head and then re-sprayed it. I hadn't worn make-up in a while. It was just easier to get up in the morning and not have to worry about that so that I can take care of Willa. Today however, I put on mascara (waterproof – considering what I was about to go through) and a little bit of blush.

From what I saw of the students at SCWC, no one was necessarily interested in dressing up. Mostly it was jeans and t-shirts. I wasn't that comfortable with wearing the t-shirt part but I did choose a pair of jeans with a nice black sweater and a necklace beaded with thick black beads. I wore a pair of black ballerina flats.

"What do you think?" I asked Ron who had just entered the room, wrapped in a towel. "First day of school good enough?"

"Eh, well…" Ron said, as If hinting that the outfit was bad.

"Damn, I knew it. Everything looks awful!" I declared, hopelessly sinking onto the bed. Ron smiled. "It's not funny." I pouted like a child.

"Hermione, I was kidding." Ron said. "You look beautiful. You always do."

"Are you sure?" I asked, standing up and surveying the look in the mirror.

"Positive." Ron assured me.

"You're a jerk." I declared turning on him angrily.

"But, what – hey I didn't mean it." He protested while I gave him a look. When he wasn't expecting it, I pushed myself up on tiptoes and kissed him.

"I didn't mean it." I said smiling.

"Sure you didn't." Ron said chuckling. He lifted me up by my waist and put me on the bed, bending down to kiss me. I laughed, not caring that my hair was probably getting messed up. His hands stayed on my waist while I had mine around his neck. His lips trailed down my neck and then came back to my lips.

"Do you think Willa will be ok?" I wondered as Ron finally gave me one last peck on the lips and went to the closet. I resumed my place in front of the mirror, fixing my hair.

"Yeah, sure." Ron said; his voice filled with nerves. "But if you want I could take her to work with me. Jacques wouldn't mind."

"We have to learn to let her go, otherwise we'll never be able to let her go to Hogwarts when she's eleven." I said.

"Hogwarts?" Ron asked. "We're going with her…or you can teach her here…and she'll live with us forever." I laughed.

"Like I said, we need to get this first time behind us and it'll become easier. She'll make friends when she gets a little older and we'll still have lives." I sounded surer than I felt. Just then Willa let out a cry, letting us know that she was awake. And I broke down. "Forget it, I'm not leaving her! I'm not going to school either!" I cried, rushing to go pick my daughter up.

After ten minutes of sobbing while I fed Willa, Ron finally had me calmed down and made me realize that Willa needed to be separated from us for at least a little bit each day. I could tell it was just rubbish he was feeding me to get me to calm down; I knew he really felt like I did, not wanting to let her go but in reality we both knew what we had to do.

I began making breakfast while Ron dressed Willa for her first day at Day Care with Mrs. Alvarado, the woman who ran the Day Care out of her house. I was dreading the moment when I would have to say goodbye to my baby for the first time in three months.

My phone rang, momentarily distracting me from leaving her.

"Hi mum." I said. "Yes, Willa's doing wonderful…Yeah, so far she seems to be adjusting to everything…you're coming this weekend?" I dropped the spatula into the frying pan in shock. Ron had just come over with Willa dressed for the day. He gave me a surprised look before he started shaking his head. "Well what is it that you can't tell us over the phone?" I asked.

"It's nothing really. Just some news and we want to see Willa." Mum said. Her tone suggested otherwise.

"Well what day are you coming? Ron and I will have our bedroom ready for you." I asked as Ron shook his head furiously. I shrugged helplessly.

"No, don't bother. We've already arranged rooms at a hotel." Mum said.

"Rooms? Who else is coming with you?" I asked.

"No one." Mum assured me. "Give my love to Willa." She hung up her phone and I dropped mine on the counter. I resumed making breakfast, not looking at Ron.

"I can't deal with your mother." Ron said. "I thought she was the nicest woman in the world until she hunted me down two minutes before the wedding to tell me that I could call this off any second and we could get married in a couple years. And then when she found out I got a job in Paris I saw that glare before she pretended she was happy! And now she won't talk to us unless it involves her granddaughter. Do you want her here, ignoring us and trying to control _our_ actions with _our_ baby?"

"She did what before the wedding?" I asked, not that surprised. It seemed to change the topic for a minute. "It won't be long." I assured him. "She said that they have to tell us something."

"As long as your dad is coming too." Ron said. "He's nice _and _he talks to us." I laughed and placed breakfast on the counter for Ron. He pulled himself into the chair and began eating breakfast with Willa in one arm.

Instead of starting to eat I grabbed Willa's bag that had been packed since last night. It included bottles of breast milk, diapers, her favorite toys, her favorite blanket, an emergency outfit change, and a long note on all her likes and dislikes and things that were important for Mrs. Alvarado to know. I triple-checked that I had everything before sitting down next to Ron and lifting Willa from his arms.

"Are you going to be ok without mummy today?" I asked. She was smiling at me and reaching for my necklace. "Mummy promises that she's going to come get you as soon as my classes are over. I don't want to go but daddy thinks that we should set an example for you."

"Lahhyaaaaaa." Willa responded. I laughed as tears spilled.

"I can't." I said, holding her to me and looking at Ron. He looked like he was about to give in too.

"We have to." He said, unsteadily. "And she'll sleep for most of it."

I looked at my daughter, Willa Elizabeth Weasley who continued to smile at me and attempted to reach my now short hair.

"She'll be fine." Ron said. I nodded slowly and pushed my plate of food away. I lifted Willa up and brought her to the couch with me. We sat next to Midnight who curled up next to us. I turned Spongebob on (Ron watches it with her and whenever he laughs she gets this big excited look on her face). Willa looked cheerful that it was on but looked around for her daddy. Ron put the plates in the sink and joined us on the couch for the next few minutes until we got up the nerve to go.

Finally we got up. I grabbed my schoolbooks and purse while Ron picked up his briefcase. He began setting Willa up in her car seat in the Trailblazer while I ran down to my car to put my books away. Ron picked me up in front of my car and we drove the two minutes to the house where the daycare was.

Instead of getting out we just stared at the house for a full five minutes, watching three sets of parents go in with their young children and come out without them.

"We can do this." I finally said. "We'll be back."

"Yeah, sure." Ron said, nodding and trying to sound confident. We both got out of the car. Ron got Willa while I got her bag. We slowly walked up to the door and I lightly knocked. A young woman with a baby in her arms answered the door.

"Mrs. Alvarado?" I asked. I was under the impression that she was older. I wasn't against young people and babies (I was in that situation) but I assumed that the woman who was going to be watching my child was…not my age.

"No." The woman laughed. She had long dark hair that was plaited to the side. Her eyes were an interesting almond shape and were dark. She was slightly taller than I was. "I'm Rebecca. You can call me Becki." She had a slight Spanish accent. "This is my daughter Annabella." She said, gesturing to the baby in her arms. "Mrs. Alvarado is my mother. She's inside. Come in."

Ron and I walked in and she shut the door behind us. The living room was set up with the usual furniture except all around there were children's toys, playpens, children, and a wireless that was playing soft music.

"You must be Ron and Hermione." Becki said. "It's so great to meet you."

"This is Willa." I said, smiling at my daughter in Ron's arms. "She's just about three months."

"Anna is ten months." Becki said. She saw Ron and I looking around the room, unsurely. "First time away from her?" She asked. Ron and I nodded.

"You have nothing to worry about. My mother is great with children." Becki said. It was only slightly reassuring. A man who looked to be about the same age as Ron and I came down the stairs to the left of us and joined us. He lifted Anna from Becki's arms and smiled at us.

"I'm Paul." He said, sticking out a hand for us to shake. Paul was almost as tall as Ron with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes; the same hazel eyes that Anna had.

"It's wonderful to meet another young couple raising a baby." Becki said. "It's nice to have someone to can relate to. When my mother got your letter and found out that you were raising her without help from your parents she added your name to the list immediately."

"What do you do?" I asked. I was nervous to leave Willa but I had to make conversation somehow.

"I am a Healer in training." Becki said. "And Paul owns the restaurant down the road. The ShoreHouse Landing."

"You own that?" Ron asked from next to me. "We went to lunch there for work the other day and it had the greatest fries." He had a triumphant smile on his face until he saw my glare. "I mean…fruit?" Ron said, helplessly. Paul and Becki laughed and the ice was broken. Ron and I told them about our careers (or future careers) and then we started talking about being parents. Ron and Paul ended up in their own discussion while I talked to Becki. By the end of the conversation they invited us to the ShoreHouse with Willa for dinner tonight.

Finally Mrs. Alvarado (who insisted we call her Gabriella or Gabby) came over.

"Willa will be in good hands here." Gabby assured us. "And it looks like she's already made a friend." She said gesturing to her granddaughter. After talking with Becki my stress about leaving her had been relieved. I still didn't want to leave her because I would miss her but I felt comfortable leaving her here.

Gabby, Becki, and Paul stepped back to give Ron, Willa, and I a moment. Ron held Willa and she kept reaching for his long nose.

"Are we really going to do this?" Ron asked, pulling Willa forward and kissing her cheek.

"I think we have to." I said. I kissed her other cheek. Ron then lifted her up so that she was facing him.

"Wil, you know that I love you more than anything right?" Ron asked her. She grabbed onto his nose. "I'll take that as a yes." Ron said. I laughed "But listen Willa, you're a Weasley so stand (or lay) proudly and be brave. Mummy and I will be back as soon as we can. You'll be fine here." He brought her to him and hugged her before kissing her forehead and passing her to me.

"I love you so much, baby. If I didn't have to go to school I promise we would be spending the entire day with you. Gabby seems like a very nice lady and you even have a friend here." I said. Willa held onto my necklace and was examining it. "I love you!" I hugged her and kissed her and then turned back to Gabby. Gabby came over and lifted Willa out of my arms. I had the sudden overwhelming feeling that I lost something.

"Say goodbye to mommy and daddy." Gabby said, lifting Willa's hand into a wave. I nearly cried as Ron and I waved. "We'll see you at four Hermione." She said. I nodded. I turned back to Ron as he put an arm around me. We stayed for a minute, watching Willa examine the soft toys in the playpen.

"She seems fine." I noted.

"Do you think she's going to notice if we leave?" Ron asked. We both watched Willa for a moment. She was playing with a jingling soft toy and not noticing anything else around her. I knew that in about a half hour like clockwork she would be falling asleep and not wake-up for at least another two hours for lunch. Would she miss not having me there to feed her? Unfortunately I highly doubted it. Any friendly face who was going to give her, her food was ok. This made me sad, however, I grabbed Ron's arm and headed in the direction of the door.

"I don't think she will." I said, gravely. Ron put his arm around me and we headed for the door. We left as tears fell from my eyes. Ron stopped me before I could get in the car. He put his arms around my and I buried my head in his chest.

"'Mione she's not even three months old yet. I'm sure once she gets older and more aware, she'll miss you." Ron said, stroking my hair.

"I know." I said. "I'm sorry. I just kind of wish that she'd miss me as much as I missed her." I said into his chest. "It's stupid."

"No, it's understandable." Ron said. "But what happens when she gets bored with that toy and she looks up for one of us to play with and we're not there. She'll miss us then." I glared at him for saying such a ridiculous thing. "What I mean is that I'm sure Gabby will take care of that but she's going to miss her mum and dad in this case." I smiled.

"Yes I bet she will." I said. Ron cleared my tears away with his thumbs and kissed me. "Ok, I have to get to class and you have to get to work." I said. I couldn't help but meet our lips once more.

"I was thinking," Ron started as we got into his car. "Your parents are coming up this weekend so what if we went on a date?"

"A date?" I asked, excitedly. "Why Ron, I thought all of the romance had died." It was only a joke but Ron took it a little too seriously.

"You don't think that do you?" He stopped the car just as we reached the end of the driveway.

"No, of course not." I said, quickly. "I meant it as a joke." I saw the expression on Ron's face.

"Do you think the romance has died?" I asked him. Ron didn't answer. He took his foot off the brake and the car began moving again. "You do?" I asked, surprised by this new information.

"Not all of it." Ron said. "It's expected that after you have a baby that things aren't the same anymore." I opened my mouth to speak but shut it when I had nothing else to say. We hadn't officially been out on a date since we had Willa. She was always with one of us or both of us or even just in the next room. Ron and I still joked with each other, still kissed, we made sure to make time for sex a few times a week, but unfortunately those were a small part our lives where as the rest revolved around our daughter. This wasn't a bad thing. God no. I loved my daughter and Ron loved her too but I guess this had changed a lot of things in our relationship.

"The romance has died." I said; this upset me greatly.

"No…well we can fix it." Ron said. "It's not a big deal." He came to a stop right next to my car. "We just have to make time for each other even if we have to do the date thing at home while Willa sleeps."

"It's that simple?" I asked. Ron smiled at me and pushed a strand of my short hair behind my ear.

"It is if we make an effort my love." He said. I felt assured by this. In an effort to make an effort I leaned over and kissed Ron full on the lips. Practically on top of the driver's seat, I threw my arms around Ron's neck and he kissed me passionately back. "Who needs work and school?" Ron murmured when our lips parted so we could breath. I laughed.

"Later, I promise." I said. I leaned in to kiss him once more and then opened my door. "Love you. Have a good day at work." I said, smiling at him.

"Have a good day at school my love." Ron said. He winked at me and I shut the door. Ron waved once more before driving away.

Happily, I got into my own car. So much had gone on this morning my head was still spinning. I had woken up a nervous wreck, remained a nervous wreck the entire morning while I wasn't sure I could leave my daughter, made new friends, cried my eyes out when I realized my baby would be fine without me, realized that the romance was gone from my marriage, rekindled a little bit of the romance, and made a date with my husband…all before nine a.m. Must be a record.

Still smiling (I was very excited for school as well as still thinking about the kiss from before) I pulled out of my parking spot and began driving to my first class, which happened to be History of Wizarding Schools.

After parking at the school like most other students at SCWC did (I was not the only one who found it more convenient to drive), I got out of my car carrying with me the assigned book for the class as well as my nine-year-old copy of _Hogwarts A History_. I slung my large bag over my shoulder and positioned my wand in my back pocket. History classes weren't usually for magic using but it was fun to use magic for the little things especially since we haven't been using magic at home a lot. Before we moved to Paris we depended on magic for a lot of things but then we slowly adapted to using less magic because we weren't living in a wizard neighborhood. My eyes went to the barely used wand in my pocket and I made a promise to myself to use my wand more often at home before focusing on the two classes I had today.

I had barely just fallen into a seat when the professor came up to me brandishing his hand. He was a very pale, short, old wizard with pale blond hair and light blue eyes. He looked to be in his late sixties.

"Miss Hermione Granger!" He exclaimed when he saw me. I meekly shook his hand, not really expecting this within my first five minutes of class. "Miss Hermione Granger may I say what an honor it is to have such an important piece of history in my class?"

"It's actually _Mrs._ Hermione _Weasley_ now but thank you." I said. I know my face was turning pink out of embarrassment and the only other girl in the classroom at the time was watching.

"Of course, of course. I just read your new book and your husband is just as important in our wizarding history. When I found out that you were going to be a student here – well Mrs. Weasley I am pleased to have you in my classroom. And if your close friend Harry Potter ever comes to visit we would love to have him come and say something to the class." I nodded meekly as he moved back to the front of the classroom. The girl who had been watching came and sat in the chair next to me.

"Don't worry about it." She whispered. "He'll get over it in about two classes and then he'll dote on some other famous person." I smiled at her, gratefully.

"Thanks." I said.

"No problem." She stuck her hand out. "I'm Graye. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi." I said, shaking her hand. I felt slightly more at ease as students began coming into the classroom. Graye began filling me in on most of the History of Magic teachers and about all the History of Magic classes. That was before Professor Miller began his introduction to this semester's course.

"When's your next class?" Graye asked as we walked from the first class as it had ended.

"Not till one." I answered, checking my watch. It was almost eleven now. "I've got History of Magical Wars next."

"Me too." Graye said, smiling. "Wanna head to the library and get started on the paper Miller assigned us?" Graye asked.

"My thoughts exactly." I said, smiling. We walked into the sunny courtyard and Graye led the way to the library, chatting about our lives.

"What's being married like?" Graye wondered.

"Wonderful." I answered. A smile crossed my face as I thought of this morning again. "It's really great. I've always known that he was the one." Graye smiled.

"I've been dating the same guy for three years. I've always wondered what it'd be like to take it to the next level." She said. "The four of us will have to go out some time and hang out." Graye said, nodding. "Nick is really cool. I'm sure you and Ron will love him and Ron seems like he'll be fun." I loved how friendly people from California were. First there was Jenna who had advice and kindness; Becki and Paul were really understanding with the fact that it's hard to leave your baby; and now there's Graye who was offering friendship after we bonded over the fact that our professor was slightly mad.

"We'll definitely have to get together." I assured her as we entered the library to begin working on our essay.

In the next hour Graye and I talked while we worked on our essays. It felt nice to be hanging around with someone who was my age and we were talking about things that normal twenty-year-olds should talk about. I did feel slightly guilty as we left the library and went to lunch. I missed Willa a lot. It had actually been a couple hours since I saw her but I couldn't help think that it was nice having the time to myself if only for a little bit longer.

Graye and I came back to SCWC after lunch and went to class. Unfortunately I was recognized by Professor Fox as well although she didn't make such a big deal out of it unlike Professor Miller.

"So, we'll meet tomorrow to work on that research project for Fox's class." Graye said as we walked towards our cars. "And then Sunday Nick and I will take you and Ron up to Laguna Beach and Dana Point."

"Great." I said, waving to Graye as I opened my car door. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Graye waved before turning to her own car.

Feeling happy about going to pick up my daughter, I extracted my wand from my pocket and transported my bag and books to the backseat. Then I turned on my car, turned up the music and began the journey to go pick up my baby.

A little before four I pulled into the driveway of _Mrs. Alvarado's Day Care_. I hurried out of my car and hurried to the door. I knocked a little more forcefully than I meant to but Gabby answered the door right away.

"Hi Hermione." She said in her thick Spanish accent. Gabby looked a lot like Becki. She had the long curly dark hair and the same almond shaped friendly eyes.

"How's Willa?" I asked trying not to sound frantic but it came out like that.

"She's fine." Gabby assured me. I breathed a sigh of relief while Gabby went over the times she slept and ate today. She led me inside and lifted Willa out of the baby swing. To my great joy she smiled at me when I lifted her up.

"Oh, I missed you so much baby girl!" I exclaimed, hugging her. "Mummy thought of you all day today." Willa grabbed onto my necklace again. She liked playing with the beads. I kissed her soft cheek and smiled at her.

"So we'll see you again tomorrow morning?" Gabby asked. She handed me Willa's bag and led me to the door.

"Yes we will." I assured her.

"Great." Gabby said, smiling. "And Becki said that she'll meet you and Ron at the ShoreHouse at six."

"Can't wait." I said. I said goodbye to Gabby once more and waved at Anna who was playing with a teddy bear on the floor. Then I walked back to my car with my baby.

Willa and I made it home and I placed her in her playpen where she started shaking around a soft rattle until she fell asleep. I cleaned up a little and then set up my books at the kitchen counter where I began working on finishing my paper.

Ron walked through the door an hour later. I met him at the door with a kiss and then we walked over to Willa stirring in her playpen. Her face lit up when she saw her daddy. Ron picked her up and held her to him.

"I missed you so much, Wil. I didn't know if you'd like it but your mummy says you were fine and I trust her – oh I missed you so much!" He kissed her forehead and the three of us sat on the couch. "How was school?" Ron asked, smiling at me while he turned the TV on for Willa.

"Wonderful!" I answered. I took my wand from my pocket and brought my paper over to me. "I got two assignments on the first day and I made a friend."

"That's great!" Ron exclaimed. He leaned over and gave me another kiss.

"And we're going with her and her boyfriend to Laguna Beach on Sunday while my parents watch Willa." I said. Ron frowned.

"What?" He asked. "Hermione. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with going somewhere with people I don't know." I glared at Ron.

"Are you serious?" I asked. "You get to make plans for us with people I don't know but I can't make friends for us?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Sasha and Trey." I said. "Granted they are two of our best friends now but who says that Graye and Nick can't be good friends? And the thing is Ronald we live in a country far away from any of our old friends so we have to make some new ones at some point. This is the reason we're going to dinner with Becki, Paul, and Anna tonight and why on Sunday we _will_ go with Graye and Nick." I said, sternly.

"Ok, ok." Ron said chuckling. "We can go meet these people. What does he do anyways? Will we at least have something to talk about?"

"He's a Cannons' fan." I said. Ron smiled.

"All right. Maybe we will end up being friends with them." Ron decided. I laughed and kissed him once again.

We left for dinner at the ShoreHouse and met Becki, Paul, and Anna there. It was a cute little place that had a comfortable feel. We ate and talked while Willa and Anna slept in strollers. We definitely had a lot to talk about with Becki and Paul. They could relate to a lot of stuff that we're going through now. Unlike how we have Harry and Ginny to talk to about things like this, Becki and Paul didn't have anyone who could relate about being a young parent. Which was why we made it a plan that one night a week we would meet at the ShoreHouse and talk.

Later that night on a happy note, Ron and I put our daughter to bed for what would only be a couple hours and then went to our own room. Ron crashed down upon the bed, tired from his day at work. I smiled at him and he noticed me smiling.

"What?" He questioned.

"Nothing." I replied, innocently. I kicked off my shoes and crawled on top of the bed to Ron.

"Oh. I see." Ron said. I cut him off with a kiss. He rested his hands on my waist and the kiss deepened into something more.

Romance in our relationship wasn't completely dead. It had just been suppressed slightly…but as long as we made the effort things would be fine.

I lay in bed, later that night thinking about exactly everything that had happened today. All the way from my nerves when I woke up to the wonderful expression of love that ended my day. There was a lot a learned today but so much more that I still had to learn whether it be in a classroom with teachers uncovering facts or in my own home with my husband and daughter or even in the library talking to a new friend. That was the good thing about life. Education was all around you and it would always be there. I saw this in my daughter's interested face as well as my husband (he would never admit it) who learned things each day at work, when he spent time with Willa and I, and when he talked with someone who was going through exactly what he was going through.

I lifted my wand from the bedside table and gave it a swish. The lights darkened and the curtains on the door to the balcony shut. I smiled and placed my wand down before snuggling closer to Ron.

**a/n: what did you think?? Review and I'll update!!! And let me know what you thought about book seven!! **

**PS: thanks Anna who offered her name up for the character of Becki's baby and thanks Becki (my younger sister) who offered up her name for Becki's chracter!!!**


	3. Life Goes On

**a/n: Hello again! So we're moving along with the chapters. I'm done with four and working on five. I also have ideas for six and seven but I'm going on vacation tonight and won't be updating until next weekend. I'm going to try and finish five while I'm away. **

**In the next couple of chapters more of their old friends and family will be making apperances although Harry, Ginny and Lily-Lyn won't really be in until chapter five. **

**So I hope you like it! Please review because the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am to finish the chapter!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_You have to take the good with the bad.  
Smile with the sad. Love what you got  
And remember what you once had  
Always forgive, but never forget  
Learn from mistakes, but never regret  
People change, things go wrong  
Just remember... life goes on..._

Life is full of things good and bad. Sometimes you're happy sometimes you hurt.

My life had been full of good and bad, happy and hurt. There were times in my life when I could have passed for the happiest person alive where as other times I didn't know if I'd ever be happy again.

Good things have occurred throughout my life. I received my Hogwarts letter; made two lifelong friends (one of them being my husband); learned all about the magical world; helped save the world; married; and had my daughter. These things make me smile when I think about them. I can feel incredibly whole and happy when these things come to mind and I never want to forget them.

Bad things have occurred in my life as well. I nearly got killed almost every year I was in school; I fought with Ron so much in school to the point where I cried till my eyes were sore; I watched my best friend struggle with a burden he didn't ask for; seen people I cared about die; cried some more when it was all over; struggled with the news that I would be a mum; and lost the idea of my mother as my mum. These things make me frown but when I think of them they don't make me feel hollow and empty inside. The bad things make me realize everything I've gone through to become who I am today. They're things that have made me learn and then I've moved on.

More good and bad were going to come in my life. I had Ron to help me through my bad times and I would help him through his. And the two of us would help Willa when she came across bad things in her life and we would be there for her when the good things came along as well.

My parents' plane was getting in Friday night at eight at the San Diego airport. When Ron got home we ate dinner and then piled into Ron's trailblazer. Willa slept in her car seat while Ron and I sat up front and talked quietly.

"So she's leaving Sunday night, right?" Ron asked. I tried not to laugh. Instead I wore a scolding look.

"Ron, she's my mother. No matter how annoying about things she can be, we still have to respect her…and no they're leaving Monday morning." I said. I heard Ron make a defeated sound.

"Of course I'm not going to not respect her." Ron said. "She's your mother but I don't know if I can handle her for a whole weekend telling us what we should and shouldn't be doing with _our_ baby."

"It's just a weekend." I assured him. "It'll be over before we know it." I placed a hand on his shoulder. "And plus, we're going on a date tomorrow night and Sunday we're going with Graye and Nick to Laguna Beach so this trip is really about them spending time with Willa." Ron sighed, heavily.

"Fine." Ron said. He turned a forced smile at me.

"That's it. Just a few more days of that." I said. Ron laughed a little and reached for my hand. I gave his a squeeze and we continued to drive across the highway.

We arrived at the airport a little before eight. I lifted Willa from her car seat, grabbing her pacifier and putting it into her now awake mouth.

"Shhh. Just go back to sleep baby." I said. Instead of grabbing the stroller, I held her to me while Ron shut the door and led the way to the airport. We had dressed comfortably to come here. I was in a gray tracksuit and my hair was pushed back with a white headband. After classes today I had picked up Willa and just came home to relax. I loved school but it had been a long week. Ron was wearing a pair of jeans and a Cannons t-shirt.

"Wil, no matter what Nana Granger says your mummy and daddy have finally figured out what we're doing so don't let her tell you any different." Ron said to Willa as we found a seat by the baggage claim. Ron was looking out the window.

"I don't understand it." He said, shaking his head at an airplane landing.

"Don't try to." I said. "It'll take a while." Ron laughed and kissed me and then kissed Willa's forehead.

People began descending from the escalators and coming to claim their bags. We stood up and looked out for my parents. Willa was wide-awake now, looking around at all the different people. Suddenly I saw the dark hair of my father and light hair of my mother coming from the crowd.

Dad hurried forward in an effort to see Willa. Mum walked calmly behind him. I handed Willa to dad. His face lit up when he saw his granddaughter smile at him for the first time.

"Hermione, she's beautiful. She looks just like you with your eyes, Ron." Dad said. He gave me a one arm hug and then shook Ron's hand.

"Thanks daddy." I said, smiling. Dad always knew how to make me smile, especially since I was nervous about seeing my mother.

"Hello Willa Elizabeth." Mum said, standing at dad's side and reaching her finger out for Willa to grab. "Remember me, I'm Nana?" Willa stared and smiled at her, reaching for her granddad's nose. She was definitely a girl who loved the attention. Ron and I stood off to the side while mum and dad fussed over Willa.

"Do you think she even notices we're here?" Ron whispered to me. I jabbed him in the ribs with my elbow but I was thinking the same thing.

"Shouldn't Willa be sleeping now?" Mum finally asked, looking at her watch.

"She was mum." I said. It was typical that the first thing out of her mouth to me was something about my mothering. Of course it was. When I was in labor she didn't visit me once but then demanded that she have time with my daughter…ok maybe that's exaggerating a little but ever since my mother had chosen to not be supportive of me during my pregnancy I was a little hostile to her. "She woke up when we got here."

"Well, we should get going then." Mum said, she yawned. "She'll probably be up all night if she doesn't get some sleep." I bit my bottom lip to refrain from saying something.

"She has a schedule that we go by." Ron said. He tried not to sound too irritated.

"Well of course." Mum said. She lifted Willa from dad's arms. "Ron, Richard, why don't you go get the bags and Hermione and I will meet you at the car. This noise probably isn't helping." I bit harder into my bottom lip while Ron and dad nodded. I led mum to the door, going over the reasons not to snap at her in my head. "What kind of car is it?" Mum asked, looking through the parking lot.

"Blue Chevy Trailblazer." I answered. "It's right over here."

"Oh." Mum said. She sounded like she was disappointed.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." Mum said. "I just figured you would get a more practical family car."

_She doesn't do it on purpose. It's a natural habit that she can't stop. She criticizes me because that's how she expresses she cares._

"Ron and I both got _good_ cars that we _wanted_ and they both have car seats for Willa." I explained as we reached the car. I opened the back door and lifted Willa from mum's arms and settled her comfortably in her car seat. "Here you go baby girl." I said, smiling at her and handing her the toy she left in the car. Willa smiled back and began shaking the toy around. I laughed while I stepped out of the car, turning around to face my mother. She had a look of surprise on her face. This made me realize that this was probably the first time she had really seen me as a mum and acting so towards my daughter. She smiled at me briefly before I got out of the way so she could get in the car. I got into the passenger's seat while mum sat in the back, looking at Willa.

After that five-month gap where she didn't speak to me it was hard to go back to how things were. There was a lot that had happened in between the time where things were "normal" with mum and now when she barely spoke to me unless it involved Willa. She wasn't too happy with the fact that I was getting married at nineteen and figured that I would end up pregnant or struggling; she, dad, and the Weasleys chipped in to buy us a house so that we would have somewhere to live but then we moved to Paris and sold the house; I knew she and my dad argued about the fact that he wanted grandchildren right away and she didn't think he should promote it to us; and then I did end up pregnant and I didn't follow through with what she wanted so she chose not to speak to me. We've been through a lot and I doubted we would ever be back in that place where things were good between us. My only hope was that my daughter would still have a bond with her.

Ron and dad popped open the trunk and put the suitcases inside. Ron came around and sat in the driver's seat. He looked at me, questioningly. I shrugged and turned toward the window. Ron started the car and turned on the soft hum of music that usually helped Willa fall asleep. The drive was silent. No one said much until we pulled into the entrance to the housing complex.

"There's a pool over there." Ron said, breaking the silence. He pointed to the right. "And Willa's daycare is over there. This woman, Gabby runs it. She's really nice. Oh and there's Hermione's car." Ron pointed to the right again and then pulled the car up the driveway and into the garage that was now opening.

"I'll just put Willa to bed and then I'll make some tea." I said. Ron and I got out of the car and began getting Willa and her things out of the car as usual. Mum and dad slowly got out of the car and looked around the garage. "Come on, it's through here." I said, holding Willa's bag and pushing the door open. We walked into the kitchen. Ron was following with Willa resting tiredly in his arms and mum in dad followed in after, observing the house.

"Good night baby." Ron said, kissing her cheek. "Daddy will see you in a couple hours. I love you Willa." He hugged her and took her jacket off of her.

"Here we go baby girl." I said, lifting her from Ron's arms. "Say night, night to Granddad and Nana, Wil." Dad and mum both gave her a kiss and told her goodnight before I headed upstairs. Ron started the teapot and shot me a weary look. I returned it with a reassuring smile and brought Willa up to her room.

"Allayaahaa." Willa said before yawning. I smiled and placed her down in her crib.

"Good night little girl." I said. I kissed her cheek and then waved my wand. The lights went out except for the magically enhanced glow-in-the-dark stars. Once again I waved my wand and Willa's music box opened. I left the door open slightly and walked back downstairs with the baby monitor in my hand. I found mum and dad sitting at the dinning room table while Ron was conducting teacups with his wand.

"She keeps glaring at me because I'm using magic." Ron muttered to me. I shot him a sympathetic look while I sat down at the table with my parents.

"What do you think?" I asked. "It's not the biggest place but we're comfortable here."

"It's wonderful." Dad said. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand. "It's the perfect place for a little family." I smiled back at him.

"So what was it that you had to tell us?" I asked, looking from dad to mum. They exchanged a nervous glance that was interrupted when the teapot and teacups clanked loudly on the table.

"Sorry." Ron said, hastily shoving his wand in his pocket. I concealed a smile. He did that on purpose.

"You know what, I think we should discuss this tomorrow." Mum said. "We'll just have a cup of tea and then call it a night."

"Um…mum, dad. Ron and I were wondering if you would watch Willa tomorrow night so we could go out?" I asked.

"Of course." Dad said. "I love that little girl." He smiled and took a sip of his tea. "Plus there's no reason to ruin the entire weekend with the news. We can talk about it on Sunday." I saw dad receive a glare from mum.

I filled mum and dad in on our plans for the weekend. We were going to take them around San Clemente tomorrow and then they would watch Willa while Ron and I went out (he still won't tell me what we're doing). And on Sunday mum and dad would have the entire day to spend with Willa while Ron and I went to Laguna Beach with friends and then Sunday night they would say their news…or whatever they had to tell us. Finally Monday I had no classes so Willa and I would drive them to the airport.

"I think we should be getting to the hotel." Mum said, yawning. "Are you going to drive us Ron?" Mum asked. She looked at Ron and he looked away.

"Yes, Ann. I was going to." He said stiffly.

"Well, make sure to take it a little easier on the corners. I know you have only been driving for a year at the least so you're not an experienced driver but I'm just looking out for the safety of my granddaughter." Mum said. Ron had been conducting dishes in the sink to wash themselves. I saw him grit his teeth. I grabbed onto his arm to calm him down. I then reached into his pocket and took out his keys.

"I'll drive them." I said.

"You can't drive my big car though." Ron protested while mum and dad got their jackets on.

"It's not a big deal. I'll figure it out." I said. Ron looked at me gratefully and kissed my nose.

"Hurry back." He said. I laughed and turned to my parents.

"Ron's going to finish the dishes and I'll drive you." I said. "Ok, let's go." I said, hurrying for the door.

I dropped my parents off in front of the hotel. They declined my help to get their things inside. I drove home, trying to get used to the feeling of driving such a big car. Finally I pulled into the garage and hurried inside, locking the doors behind me. I found Ron watching TV on the couch. Tiredly, I fell into the seat next to him and he put his arms around me. He always knew how to make me fell a million times better.

x

The next morning Ron and I woke up with Willa's cry rather than the alarm clock like we usually do. She was slightly off schedule since she was awake when she should have been sleeping. (I knew she was going to too. Mum didn't have to tell me.)

We both pulled ourselves out of bed and began to get Willa ready.

"So where are we going tonight?" I asked Ron. He was sitting on the floor dressing Willa in a dress and leggings. I was in the rocking chair, watching them.

"It's a surprise." Ron said, smiling mischievously. "This is how we keep the romance alive…mystery!" He smiled at me and lifted a fully dressed Willa up. "Isn't that right, Wil?" Ron asked. "Tell mummy about the mystery in love."

"Ayalayahh." Willa said, sucking on her fingers. Ron and I laughed.

"Ok my love. You can shower and Willa and I will be downstairs watching Spongebob Square pants." Ron said. He stood up with Willa in his arms. "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" He asked her, making a funny face. Willa smiled and I laughed at Ron. Ron smiled back and then headed down the stairs, singing the rest of the Spongebob theme song.

Smiling I went to go shower. I dressed in a pair of jeans with a navy cardigan over a white top. I brushed my hair back and went downstairs to find Ron cooking breakfast…well not cooking. He was pouring granola cereal into bowls with milk. It was still a nice gesture.

We ate breakfast and then Ron went to shower while I played with Willa and her toys on the floor. That was until I go an annoyed phone call from my mother.

"Hermione, it's almost ten. I thought you would have called by now to tell us when you're coming." Mum said. "Please tell me Willa still isn't sleeping. Hermione she can't sleep all day–"

"Mum, I know my baby." I assured her. "She's been awake for a while now. We just had breakfast and Ron's getting dressed now. We were going to call you in a little bit mum."

"Well I'm going to go tell your father. Call when you're coming." She hung up the phone and I rolled my eyes.

"She's your Nana and we love her ok…no matter how demeaning of my mothering skills she can be. She loves us too even if she doesn't always show it." I said to Willa.

"Alyahhaalaaya." Willa said which I took to mean, "I know mummy and you're the best mummy in the world."

I smiled at Willa as Ron descended the stairs dressed in a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt layered over a white long-sleeved shirt.

"Ok, let's get this over with and then we can–"

"Can what?" I interrupted, teasing him about where we're going on our date.

"…can go on our date that will remain a secret until the right moment." Ron finished, smiling.

"Well how will I know what to wear?" I asked Ron. I lifted Willa up as Ron got her things together so we could spend the day out.

"You can wear, whatever you like." Ron said. "Get all dressed up or not. It's up to you."

"That helps." I pouted, sarcastically. Ron smiled and leaned over to kiss me.

"Fine, something slightly fancy." Ron said.

"Ok, now that actually helps." I said. Ron chuckled as we walked towards his car.

"Hermione, I don't know if I can keep my mouth shut. If she says something…" Ron said. He waved his wand and the garage door opened.

"You have to. Just let it slide." I said to him. "Just remember that she makes comments like that because she can't help it."

"If she comments on my driving again–"

"Then you'll let it slide." I said. "Please Ron." I begged.

"I'll let it slide." He repeated in a monotone. He put Willa's stroller in the car and we got into the car. "Well, here it goes." Ron said. He started the car and backed out of the garage.

"Here it goes." I repeated, picking up my phone and dialing the hotel's number.

We arrived at the hotel almost ten minutes later. Mum and dad were waiting outside dressed a little too warmly in bulky sweaters and big coats. They got in the car and immediately began doting on Willa and how cute she had gotten since they had last seen her. Ron pulled away from the hotel and headed for our first stop, the San Clemente Beach to pick up some nice rocks for them to take back. Dad had already shed his coat and mum was looking into Willa's car seat. Second later, she began crying.

"Shhhh, it's all right." Mum said, trying to sooth her. "Nana's here." Willa continued on screaming.

"It's in the side pocket." Ron said to my unasked question.

"K." I reached into the side pocket of the diaper bag and took out her favorite purple pacifier. I unbuckled and leaned into the back seat. "Here you go baby girl." I said. I put it in her mouth and she immediately became silent, too interested in sucking on her pacifier. Ron and I had discovered early on that a way to keep her from crying was 'the lucky pacifier' it was the only one that would keep her from crying. I waited a minute to make sure that was what she wanted and then I sat right back in my seat. I took the opportunity to look in the rearview mirror and see mum's shocked expression staring at me. I told her that I would prove to her I could be a good mother.

I decided to save the satisfied smile for later.

We arrived at the beach where mum decided to cut in with another remark. I hadn't decided whether she was doing this because she wanted to demean my parenting or if she was actually concerned…I thought I knew but now I wasn't sure.

"Do you have another sweater for her, Hermione. She's going to freeze her little arms off." Mum said, rummaging through the diaper bag. Of course I had packed another sweater just in case but she didn't need it. Yeah it was windy but she had on a hat, a sweater, and a jean jacket over her clothes.

"Mum she won't need it." I assured her. Ron positioned Willa in baby carrier so that she could see what was in front of her. He made sure the hat was snug on her head and over her ears before starting down the hill towards the beach. Dad was following while I watched mum who was still rummaging for Willa's other sweater. "Mum. She's warm enough as it is."

"Well I'm bringing it so that when I see her shiver I can–" Mum started.

"Fine mother, but I assure you she won't need it." I said. I grabbed the diaper bag and zipped it up, slinging it over my shoulder. "I know my own daughter." I slammed the trunk shut, leaving my mother standing there with Willa's sweater in her hand. She took a moment to collect herself before following me. I noticed that the sweater was no longer in her hands and decided to use my satisfied smile since she couldn't see my expression.

We left the beach two hours later with a collection of rocks for dad and some for Ron to add to the jar in Willa's room and some to add to the jar that would be a gift for Lily-Lyn. We stopped for lunch at our new favorite restaurant, _The ShoreHouse Landing_ and then parked the car and walked around town with them. Finally we headed back to the house. Ron wore a frown as he walked inside. He had been through a lot with my mother today. He fell on the couch and turned on the TV. I walked in and placed Willa in her playpen.

"Something to drink?" I asked Ron.

"Yes please, my love." Ron said. Dad was sitting on the recliner, watching _Scrubs _on Comedy Central with Ron. Mum was in the kitchen.

"I'll get it." Mum said.

"No, don't worry about it mum." I said. I took my wand out of my pocket and conducted the Organic Grapefruit juice from the refrigerator. I poured two cups of it and directed them towards Ron and dad. I loved using magic more often now.

"Hermione, are you sure using magic around a baby is advisable?" Mum asked. "There really is no guarantee that that cup of juice could had fallen into the playpen or dropped, leaving glass on the carpet.

"Mum, we're careful when we use it. We're a family of witches and a wizard. Willa's magic will develop soon so why not expose her to it?" I tried to keep my voice calm but I had finally decided that she picked certain things to pick on and make an argument out of it.

"I grew up in a house with magic all around me." Ron said from the couch. "My mum was careful when it came to things like that and we're careful around Willa. She'll be exposed to it no matter what." He didn't look at mum; instead he stayed focused on the television.

"I'm sure _Molly_ was careful but I was remembering when Hermione was an infant and cried and cried when we couldn't find her favorite toy. Her whole toy box near exploded and she was sitting right there." Mum said.

"I'm sure she wasn't hit by anything." Ron said. "Uncontrolled magic isn't going to cause harm to the person performing it. And Willa's mum is the most brilliant witch ever. It's expected that Willa will follow in Hermione's footsteps but Hermione will teach her how to control it." He turned back to look at mum. "Ann, we appreciate your opinion…_whenever_ you find fit to express it to us but when it comes to raising our daughter magically I have to put my foot down and say that we make the decisions." _Uh, oh._

Mum looked absolutely speechless even dad was surprised that Ron actually stood up to her. I wasn't sure whether to intervene and say something or not. Dad seemed to know what to do after he lost his shock.

"Mmm. What kind of juice is this?" Dad asked, examining the cup. "Amazing."

"Organic grapefruit." I answered. "Ron and I want to start eating healthier and more organic so that when Willa's old enough to eat real food that the habit gets passed along to her."

"Clever." Dad said. "It's good to start her with positive eating habits, even young." I smiled at dad, grateful while mum looked away and Ron turned back to the TV.

"I think I'm going to start making dinner." Mum said. "Shouldn't you be getting ready to go out, Hermione?"

"Oh, right!" I hurried up the stairs and began the process of selecting and outfit before showering. I exited the shower to find Ron in the bedroom, buttoning his shirt. He looked up at me with a frown.

"Monday can't come soon enough." Ron said. I smiled and put a hand on his arm.

"We won't even be here for part of the day tomorrow." I said.

"Yeah but poor Willa will." Ron said. "She'll be overheated and underexposed to magic."

"Ron!" I protested, stepping into the red dress I planned on wearing. It was a strapless red dress that hit just above my knee. I clipped a string of pearls around my neck and began working on my hair. "We are not talking like this, especially if Willa can hear it. We are keeping a positive opinion for her..."

"Of course my love." Ron said. He smiled at me and I couldn't help smile back.

"Any hint on our destination tonight?" I questioned as I finished my hair and surveyed Ron's very nice appearance. He was wearing a nice pair of black pants and a nice shirt.

"Yeah, you're overdressed." Ron said.

"What?" I asked in shock, looking down at the dress.

"Kidding." Ron said, smiling.

"You jerk!" I declared. I smacked his arm lightly before stepping into a pair of heels that I hadn't worn in so long.

"You look beautiful." Ron said, looking me over while I put a shawl on.

"Why thank you, love. You don't look so bad yourself." I smiled at him.

"Ready?" He asked, holding out and arm.

"Of course." I said. I lopped my arm through his and we headed down the stairs. Mum and dad were sitting at the dinning room table eating what mum had cooked for them. Willa was still in her playpen looking at all the toys.

"Hermione, I made a list of groceries that you need. I could barely find anything to make dinner." Mum said.

"I just went grocery shopping yesterday." I protested.

"Well there was no steak or meat and you're missing essentials that you're supposed to always have in the house." Mum said.

"Mum, I don't eat meat anymore. I've been a vegetarian since I was pregnant with Willa. Ron is the only one who eats it so I don't buy too much of it and as for the other stuff, if it isn't here then we probably don't eat it." I said, frustrated. I picked Willa up from her playpen and held her too me.

"All the same, I think I'll go shopping for you tomorrow." Mum said. I gave up; there was no point in arguing.

"You look beautiful." Dad said, smiling at me.

"Thank you daddy." I said, smiling back. I had Willa in my arms and went to the refrigerator. "There are bottles in here, she usually eats around seven and then we let her play or watch TV until eight and then we put her to bed. When she goes to sleep open the music box, it helps her sleep and we should be back by the next time she wakes up but if not there's another bottle in here and then Ron or I usually just sit there with her in the rocking chair after the feeding until she falls asleep." I double-checked in my head if there was anything I was missing.

"If she gets fussy there's her purple pacifier that is the only one she likes." Ron said. "And make sure that when she goes to sleep she can see that Teddy (that's her favorite bear from Uncle Fred and Uncle George) because she hates falling asleep at night without Teddy there." Ron added. I smiled at him and again saw the look of surprise on my mother's face. Did she honestly think that we haven't been able to raise our daughter since she was born?

"You can call us if there's any trouble." I said. I walked back over to the playpen with Willa in my arms. I kissed her twice and she smiled at me. I attempted to release my necklace from her grasp. I passed her to Ron, smiling. Ron kissed her cheeks and she smiled again. He kissed the top of her head where light brown hair was growing in before placing her back in the playpen with her purple pacifier. I turned back to mum and dad. Secretly I enjoyed seeing that look on mum's face where she realized that I was a good mother who knew what I was doing.

"We'll be back." I assured my parents.

Ron and I got into the car where I eagerly pestered him with questions about where we were going although he didn't budge. Finally we pulled into a parking lot of a nice restaurant off the ocean.

"This is just the first stop." Ron said.

We had a table looking out onto the water lit with candles. The thing that made this dinner special was that it was just Ron and I all dressed up and talking about anything that didn't necessarily revolve around our jobs and family. We laughed and joked, remembered old times, and just enjoyed each other's company in a date setting.

"I'm stuffed." I said, patting my stomach while we walked to the car. Ron had his arm around me and I leaned into him.

"Well, we're on to the next stop." Ron said. He stopped before we reached the car and kissed me. It was romantic to be kissing my husband under the stars on our date. I really loved it. The even greater thing was that once we parted out lips, he walked around the car and opened my door for me.

"Thank you." I said. I was beaming and I felt ecstatic. It was like we were seventeen again…young and no cares. Just in the moment.

"Anytime my love." Ron responded.

Ron drove me somewhere unfamiliar. I didn't recognize it and he wouldn't tell me where we were…until he led me inside into the dimly lit salsa club. I smiled at him. It had been so long since we've been to one of these places. Laughing I grabbed Ron's hand and pulled him to the center of the dance floor where Ron and I danced together, laughing.

It must have been hours that we danced at the club, enjoying ourselves, and sweating. Finally we wore ourselves out and got back into Ron's car to go home…or I thought it was home.

Ron finally pulled into another parking lot. This one happened to be the parking lot of a playground.

"Interesting place." I said, raising an eyebrow. I tiredly took off my heels and stepped out of the car. Ron came around the side and lifted me up, carrying me to the sand that covered the ground under the playground. I giggled loudly while Ron lay down on the playground sand with me.

"I drove past it the other day and I know Wil is too young to come here but we can enjoy it." He said.

"I love you." I said, turning to face him. "And I think we definitely brought the romance back to life."

"I love you too." Ron said. He turned over and kissed me. I returned the kiss for several moments before breaking away.

"Come on!" I said. I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. I led him to the swings where we both sat down. "Let's jump for old time's sake." I said. My mind flashed to a memory of us in the summer before seventh year.

"I haven't done this in a while." Ron said, wearily.

"One…two…THREE!" I ignored him and we both jumped, laughing. We landed on the ground right next to each other. Life was good.

x

Mum wasn't too pleased by the fact that we got in at one a.m. Apparently we should be thinking more like responsible parents…despite the fact that she said she didn't mind watching her before. Ron and I offered to let them stay for the night but mum insisted on going back to the hotel.

Ron and I fell asleep in a happy mood, my head spinning with romance. Not even having to drive mum and dad back to the hotel with mum and her comments could kill it.

We awoke the next morning and got everything ready for mum and dad to take Willa out, and then we dressed to go and meet Graye and Nick and go to Laguna Beach and Dana Point.

Ron and Nick had a lot in common in addition to the fact that they both liked the Chudley Cannons. Graye and I talked about school and other things. We spent some time at the beach with the view and we walked around a little bit. We also stopped in some shops where I bought something for Willa, whom I missed today. The four of us went for lunch somewhere in between all of that.

We got home where Ron and I immediately began fussing over Willa. (The freedom was lovely but we missed our little girl.) Mum was sitting outside reading a book; dad was watching TV; and Willa was just waking up.

I couldn't help but notice that mum had actually done unnecessary grocery shopping and was cooking dinner when I told her, this morning, that I was going to cook. I handed Willa to Ron and went outside to go talk to mum.

"Why don't you trust me to be a good mother and a good wife?" I asked as calmly as I possibly could; I refrained from slamming the sliding door. Mum looked up from her book.

"Excuse me?" She asked. She still hadn't gotten used to me standing up to her.

"I grocery shop for my family! I provide dinner every day for my family except when Ron does it! I take care of my baby! I know when she's cold and hot! I know when she goes to bed and I know that I'm a damn good mother…no matter what you think!" I watched a look of surprise cross her face.

"Hermione, this is not the time for a discussion like this." Mum said, sharply.

"When is the time mum?" I asked, near the point of upset. "Am I supposed to continuously take your comments and let you talk to my husband like that as well? We are two capable parents. We've raised her since she was born and we've learned. I'm sick to death of you mocking my parenting. " Mum's face showed remorse but I wasn't done. "Mum, I get that you didn't want me pregnant in the first place but it happened. I know we didn't follow through with your plan but I had a baby and Ron and I take care of her. You didn't think we could but yet we have. This is the part where you tell us what a good job we've done or kept your mouth shut and stopped criticizing us because you don't think we know what we're doing." I stopped and took a breath. Mum's face looked weary as if she had not been expecting this confrontation. She kept looking around at the neighboring house that wasn't too far from where we were standing.

"There are spells around the place. They can't hear us unless we want them too." I said, sinking into a chair. I was pretty sure Ron and dad could hear us, though. I put my face in my hands, expecting to hear the sound of the sliding door any moment. Instead I heard an intake of breath before mum began speaking.

"Hermione, I'm sorry." Surprised I took my face away from my hands and looked at her. "In the past two days that I've been here I've seen how you are with Willa. I know you're a capable mother…and Ron is a capable father." She wouldn't look at me.

"Why do you doubt us then?" I asked.

"I don't doubt you. To me, you're still the eleven-year-old girl who's off to a school where she'll bite off more than she can chew. I can't help thinking that you're in way over your head and at some point you're going to fall and need someone to pick up the pieces. If you're in a different country I can't be there. I don't mean to doubt you. If anything you've shown me what a capable parent you are but I can't help but try and find some place that you'll need my guidance." Mum said.

"Ron's here mum. I get that you aren't fond of him and unfortunately he knows that too but he loves Willa and me. I love him and Willa. If I struggle he helps me and if he struggles I help him. That's what a marriage is about…well our marriage." I said. This time when I heard the sliding glass door open, I turned to see dad and Ron coming out onto the back porch with us. Ron sat in the chair next to me with Willa wrapped in her purple blanket from Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry while dad sat on the other side of me.

"Ron, it's not that I dislike you." Mum said. "It's just that–"

"You thought I was pushing Hermione into everything too fast and taking her away." Ron answered for her, nodding. "I get it. I have my own daughter and I understand. I can think about it in your shoes." Mum finally looked up from the table and looked at Ron.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I know it wasn't you but it was just easier to have someone to blame it on." Ron nodded in understanding. Willa wriggled in the blanket in his arms. Ron repositioned the purple pacifier in her mouth.

"Hermione, your mother and I have something that we have to tell you." Dad said. He looked at mum who looked slightly fearful of what they were about to tell me.

In some way I already knew what they were going to tell me. It had been a long time coming and I knew it, no matter how much I didn't want to believe it.

"After a lot of talking and meeting with a professional we've finally come to the decision to get a divorce." Mum said. It was steady and calm as if she had rehearsed it before.

Tears welled in my eyes although I was nodding. My parents who had been in love since they were young were now getting a divorce; they would no longer be my parents. Now it was my mother and my father.

"Hermione, I still love your father but we aren't right together." Mum said. Ron reached for my hand and I allowed him to take it.

For some reason I expected all my hope for love to be gone but it wasn't. I had thought when they told me this that I might doubt my own marriage and worry that there was no such thing as truly loving a person. Instead I felt more loved than ever. Unlike my parents Ron and I found our other half; our best friend; and the one we were meant to be with in the end. My parents had amazing years together but they weren't right. They were just friends living under the same roof with a daughter. This wasn't going to happen to Ron and I. My parents were still looking for the other ones that would make them happy and while it pained me to think of them apart…I knew exactly what she meant. They were like two pieces of a puzzle that didn't quite fit together unless you bended the pieces a little.

Tears continued to pour down my cheeks while I listened to mum and dad go on and on about how they tried to make it work but were unsuccessful.

"What's going to happen to the house?" I wondered when they stopped speaking and everyone was looking at me to say something. I thought of the house where I grew up and couldn't bear the thought of not taking Willa back to it a few times a year.

"Your mother is going to continue to live there and I'm going to get myself a flat. After I retire in the summer I'll do some traveling." Dad answered.

"And when that happens your Aunt Connie and I are going to take a long trip to Mexico." Mum answered. Mum, dad, and Ron were all looking at me with concern in their eyes. I wonder if they expected I'd flip out.

"I understand mum, dad." I said. I reached for Willa in Ron's arms. He passed her to me. "I'm no longer a child. I'm a mother and a wife, I understand your decision but life goes on for all of us." I looked up and smiled at them although I was crying and my insides were twisting at the sad thought of my parents apart. Ron smiled back while mum and dad were too shocked to respond. It seems that they were the ones who had to get over the shock.

Good: reconciling with your mother, amazing dates with your husband who you'll be with forever, spending time with new friends, and realizing how much you missed spending time with your daughter.

Bad: knowing that your mother is still going to comment on things (because she cares), having your mother admit she didn't like your husband that much, and hearing that you're parents are getting a divorce.

In life we experience good and bad. The thing is, though, you have to learn how to deal with the situations that hurt. Maybe I shouldn't have put on such a brave face for everyone but this situation made me realize how much I've grown. To actually understand where my parents were coming from in their decision was definitely proof I know the meaning of love and what it means to be _in_ love with someone so you can be in a marriage with that person. This knowledge and my loving husband would help me actually deal with this.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!**


	4. Change

**a/n: Hello again! Well I'm updating sooner than I thought. I wanted to get five done and I finished it like two minutes ago. Six may be a couple of days but still...please review!!!**

**So far I think this story will end up being forty or fifty chapters. I want it to be the longest and for now the plan is that the next story will be a series of important happenings in their lives and the lst one will be Willa getting on the train for her first day at Hogwarts. **

**I have one thing that I'd like to say before you can go on and read. I just recently discovered that Quidditch teams are not according to country and there are a few British Quiddithc teams rather than "England's team" which I wrote that Harry plays for. I have now decided to find him a team so Harry plays for the Falmouth Falcons. And there will be later chapter when Harry's team plays the cannons and they all take Willa and Lily to their first Quidditch match. **

**Ok now...on with the chapter!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Change is the process by which the future invades our lives. –Alvin Toffler_

At times, change is hard to accept where other times the change just transitions smoothly into your lifestyle. The hard to except change is something that changes life forever so that it'll never be the same again. Change that easily transitions into life would be something small that fits into normal everyday life.

As difficult as it is to go through the hard changes in life, it's also hard to watch family going through tough change.

The transitional changes are as simple as dealing with the fact that I'll never see my parents together again or even adapting to new technology in the world.

Change no matter how difficult or how easy to deal with is still a major part of life. Things happen and we deal thus leading to the changes in character and lifestyles. Sometimes the hard change can even be for the better.

As February came, California was looking even more beautiful and our California lifestyle was becoming natural habit now. We did miss family back home and now that Willa was officially three months old we were able to Apparate with her (babies could only Apparate after the first three months, they couldn't Portkey until they were one, and Flooing was bad for them). Ron and I had passed our International Apparating License Tests and were now able to Apparate internationally. Soon (when we got up the nerve to Apparate with her for the first time) we would take her to England where our family whom she hadn't seen in a while was.

It came as a surprise the second week into February when Ron and I were awoken by a familiar voice in our bedroom.

"Oi! Get your asses out of bed and come talk to me! This is quite a painful position. And you wonder why no one's hooked this one up to our channel of fireplaces yet." Tiredly Ron and I bolted upright, in alarm.

"George?" Ron asked, looking around the room in confusion.

"Down here!" Ron and I both looked at the barely used fireplace in our bedroom. This was part of the reason it hadn't been hooked up to their channel of fireplaces. Ron and I both scrambled out of bed to the front of the fireplace where George's head flickered.

"I'm sorry – it's really great to see you uninvited and all – but you do realize that it's five-thirty in the morning over here and we were up a lot of the night with Willa. We think she's beginning to teethe." Ron said. Something flickered across George's face in the fire but I couldn't see it, it disappeared too fast.

"Sorry." George said, although he showed no signs of actually being sorry. Midnight strolled into the room, in an attempt to check out what was going on so early. I pulled her into my lap so she wouldn't go near the fire. "Listen, Alicia and I were talking and we think it'd be nice to get away for a while. Would it be all right if we came to visit next week?"

"You woke me up at five-friggin'-thirty in the morning to ask if you can come over?" Ron asked, angrily. George and I ignored him.

"That'd be great." I said, smiling. "How long will you be staying?" George and I went over their non-thought out plans. He and Alicia were coming up on Sunday night and would stay for a week. They were going to stay with us. "Willa will be happy to see her Uncle George and Aunt Alicia. You know she rolled over for the first time three days ago? Pretty soon she'll be crawling."

"We can't wait." George said. Again I saw the flicker of that expression but I took it to mean that he missed his niece and still had a little anger over us moving here. "All right, I have to get back to work but we'll owl you with the Portkey information once it's confirmed."

"Give our love to everyone!" I called before George's face disappeared from the fire. Ron grabbed his wand from the nightstand and pointed it at the fireplace as he whispered a spell to prevent anyone else from coming uninvited into our fireplace.

"Should have done this ages ago." He muttered before crawling back in bed. I smiled although I didn't know what he was complaining about. He had Thursdays off while Thursdays were my busiest days. Yawning I crawled back into bed with him, only to be awoken an hour later to feed my daughter.

x

George's surprising morning intrusion was nothing compared to what happened the next day when I received a phone call as I walked into the door. In one arm I had Willa and in the other arm I was conducting a line of groceries into the house. My last class had ended an hour ago and after picking Willa up, we went grocery shopping. I put Willa in her playpen and quickly picked up my phone.

"Hello?"

"Do you live in Santa Ana?" Luna's voice asked over the line. It contained the dreamy quality it always had.

"Hi, Luna." I said, brightly. It was nice to hear from her since besides the contact with George, we have barely spoken to anyone back home in a while. Guiltily I made a plan to send pictures and letters to everyone. "No, we live in San Clemente."

"Ha! I knew it started with an S!" Neville said in the background.

"Hi Neville!" I called. He responded while I heard them conversing about something.

"Do you believe that Neville is driving?" Luna questioned me. "We just took our driving tests two days ago. Isn't that weird?" Weird? Something Luna actually thought was weird…

"Wow. Congratulations." I said. I began to lazily flick my wand around, guiding the groceries into their correct homes in the kitchen.

"Thank you." Luna said. "Oh, Nev, turn here! Look that's the sign!"

"Where are you?" I laughed. The groceries were put away and now I was taking Willa out of her playpen to sit on the couch with Midnight and I.

"Pacific Coast Highway…or something like that." Luna said.

"You're in California?" I asked in surprise. Willa stirred in my arms a little until Midnight jumped down from the couch and began stretching out on the floor. She was transfixed with watching Midnight.

"Yes." Luna said, laughing. "Of course. We live here now."

"You live here now?" I asked, even more surprised. Luna laughed again.

"Of course, that's where our new show is filming. Don't worry, the cameras aren't coming with us." Luna said. I was having a hard time understanding this.

"I'm sorry…what?!"

Luna repeated herself again.

"We thought someone would have told you by now." Neville added. "We moved here last week but we've been so busy filming and signing contracts that we haven't gotten a chance to come visit."

"Filming?" I questioned in confusion.

"They're speeding up the production of Longbottom Magictronics." Neville answered. "They're filming movies and TV shows now."

"Oh, wow." I said, truly surprised by this.

"Yep, it's all coming out in summer." Luna said, seeming proud. "And our TV show is going to be the greatest. You're welcome to be in it if you want."

"You're having your own TV show?" I asked even more surprised than before.

"_Neville and Luna Coming to America_." Luna answered. "We got the idea from muggle reality TV. It's so much fun!"

"Wow." That was the only thing I could come up with.

"What's your address?" Luna questioned. "I'll put it into the car GSP thingy and we'll be there soon."

I gave Luna the address and they said they'd be here as soon as possible. As I hung up the phone, I was in more shock than ever. This was definitely something I wasn't expecting. Willa looked up at me as if she was looking for an explanation on what just happened or possibly where the cat went.

"Wil, there are a lot of good people in the world and Neville and Luna are two of the best but they're a little odd or _eccentric_. If the apple doesn't far too far from the tree I'm sure their child, who will one day be your friend, is going to be similar. Just go with it though, baby. We can try and find logic behind it but it does no good." I explained. Willa sat there, watching me with an interested look on her face. I smiled and picked her up before placing her in her in her playpen while I started to get something ready for the guests. I continued to talk to her while I bustled around the kitchen. All the books say it's the best thing for her development.

Ron came through the door as I was placing a plate of snacks on the coffee table.

"Are we having guests?" Ron asked, dropping his briefcase onto the couch and wrapping his arms around me. I turned to face him and hugged him around the middle.

"Yes, and you'll never guess who." I said.

"Graye and Nick?" Ron asked.

"Nope." I responded. I leaned my head upwards and kissed him. He kissed back for a moment and then parted our lips, smiling at me.

"Becki, Paul, and Anna?" Ron questioned. He kissed my cheek and then went to go see Willa. "Hey Wil." Ron said, lifting her up. She smiled at Ron.

"Nope." I answered. I went back to the kitchen and started a pot of tea.

"Your friend Jenna?" Ron asked.

"No she's coming over for dinner with her husband, Nate, tomorrow." I answered.

"Someone from my work?" Ron said, screwing up his face in confusion.

"Nope." I said. It was sort of fun to mess with him.

"Hon, we don't have any other friends in California." Ron said.

"Actually, as of last week we do. No one bothered to tell us though." I answered.

"Who?" Ron asked. He grabbed something off the snack tray.

"Neville and Luna." I answered, enjoying the look of surprise on his face. "Oh yes." I said as he opened his mouth to speak. "Longbottom Magictronics is coming out in the summer so they're filming movies and TV shows now. Apparently they have their own reality show too."

"Seriously?" Ron asked.

"Dead serious." I responded. "They were on their way over when they called a half hour ago. Go get changed from your work clothes and we'll have to let them tell us the rest." I took Willa from his arms while Ron ran up stairs to get changed out of his work clothes. Willa and I were lucky enough to have been wearing comfortable clothes all day. Willa was wearing a pair of overalls with a flower printed top. She had a flower headband on top of her head where she had light brown hair growing in. I was wearing a pair of jeans with a red hooded sweater with a white headband in my hair.

I made faces at Willa while I brought her to the baby swing that we had just recently purchased. I buckled her in and lightly set it in motion. Midnight was back in the line of view, entertaining Willa. I took my wand out of my pocket and began guiding things around into their places.

Ron padded down the stairs wearing a pair of jeans and a black long-sleeved t-shirt. He went right to the snack tray.

"Leave some for the guests." I said, slapping his hand away.

"They know I like to eat." Ron said. I laughed; the doorbell rang and Ron and I hurried to the front door where we greeted Neville and a three-month pregnant Luna. We did the catching up thing and then led them into our home. They spent the first few minutes talking about Willa and how cute she was. Finally we all settled down to hear the story of why Neville and Luna had moved to California. Luna sat on the couch next to Neville and she was holding Willa. Ron sat in the recliner and I sat next to Neville and Luna.

"Well the company came to me a few weeks ago and told me that the demand for the products is increased so instead of waiting until next summer they want to get it out this summer." Neville explained. "The demand is greater in North America so in June all of the Longbottom Magictronic products are coming out and then in August it'll be released in Europe and so on."

"They told us that they want to start filming movies and TV shows. Businesses are filming commercials so by the time it comes out everything will be ready. Someone proposed the idea that we have our own show." Luna said, smiling. "At first it was going to be a talk show but then we were watching muggle TV and thought it would be amusing to do a reality show."

"We've been filming for the past week." Neville explained. "It's good fun."

"California is an interesting place." Luna observed. "We like it here though."

"Yeah." Neville nodded in agreement. "We have a nice house on the beach in Malibu and we've made some great friends all ready."

"Wow." Ron said when they finished their story.

"I know." Neville said happily. "It's going to be strange trying to adapt to the new life here with a camera in our faces all the time and a baby on the way but it'll be fun."

"It's going to be strange for everyone." Luna said. "Things are changing in the Wizarding World; they're moving into a new era. Think about it, when the Magictronic line is released nothing will be the same. We can communicate with our M-phones and watch movies based in our world and we'll have computers to make research easier." She smiled. "It's going to be an interesting change."

It was an interesting concept to think about. Ron and I were a nonconformist wizarding family. We used muggle technology as well as magic so the transition wasn't going to be a big deal for us like it was for all of the wizards who didn't use muggle technology. It really was going to be something when all this technology came into play for them.

"This is really great." I decided. "It'll be so nice to have friends that we've known forever here. And there's a baby coming along." I smiled, looking at Luna's stomach.

"Yes." She said rubbing her bump. "Little Phineas Xenophilius Lovegood Longbottom."

"That's a long name." Ron noted. If he were close to me I would have jabbed him with my elbow.

"Well, we'll call him Phinny for short." Neville said. He and Luna smiled at each other.

"You know it's a boy, already?" I asked.

"I can feel it." Luna said, sitting up straighter and holding her stomach. "I know it's Phinny." I smiled. Luna had her eccentric ways that I would never understand but she and Neville were happy together…and little Phinny would join them in their odd little world of love. "Oh you two and Willa can be in the episode where Phinny's born. It'll be fun!"

"Sounds exciting." Ron said trying to sound excited.

Neville and Luna stayed for a little longer before they had to get back to their house. We said goodbye and made plans to meet somewhere for tea next week. When they were gone, Ron turned to me and laughed.

"I missed them." He said, chuckling. "How we survived without their humor…" He chuckled and laid a blanket over the sleeping Willa in her playpen.

"I miss everyone." I said. "Harry, Ginny, Lily-Lyn, Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Alicia, Angelina, Bill, Fleur, Alexis, Cecilia, Char–"

"I get it." Ron said, interrupting me before I could go on. "I miss them too." He wrapped his arms around me and I buried my head into his chest. "I guess it's time that we start going back every Sunday."

"Yeah…" I said, leaving it hanging there.

"Are you afraid they'll hate us too?" Ron asked.

"Yeah." I answered. "It's been a while since we've talked to any of them." I lifted my head from Ron's chest. "I'm going to send a letter to everyone back home." I declared turning for the dinning room table, which was my makeshift desk. "Including Alexis, Cecilia, Max, Greg, and Lily-Lyn." Ron smiled at me while I got to work on making amends with our family.

"I'll start dinner." Ron said. He kissed the top of my head and went into the kitchen. I started sorting through Willa's pictures.

x

Thinking that it would be nice to have George around for a laugh was completely off. They arrived Sunday and it wasn't hard to tell that something was up with him and Alicia. He didn't even tease Ron on the ride to our house and despite the fact that I excused it as tired Ron said, "George is never too tired to joke." For most of the first day they slept in, catching up on the time change. They were up by lunch when I took them to the ShoreHouse. I had no classes today; instead I had the entire day to spend with them and Willa.

"You come here a lot?" George questioned once we were seated. Willa and I had been greeted with our first names.

"Friends of ours own this place." I replied. George vaguely nodded and hid behind his menu. I looked over at Alicia who was behind her menu, not looking well. Willa's car seat was resting on the chair next to mine and she was observing everything.

"Are you two ok?" I questioned. Both George and Alicia put down their menus and looked at each other.

"Just tired." George said. "It's been busy and we really needed this time away." He forced a smile.

"We've got a lot on our mind." Alicia added. I nodded.

"Hey, Hermione! Hey there Willa!" I turned to see Paul coming over to the table, smiling.

"Paul, this is my brother-in-law George and his wife, Alicia." I introduced. They said their hellos and then Paul took our order. "Don't rush the food." I said to Paul. Paul nodded, smiling. George and Alicia went back to silence looking deep in thought as Paul walked away.

Sighing, I stood up from my chair with a handful of quarters. The two of them watched as I walked over to the old jukebox in the corner of the room. I chose a playlist of fun songs and turned back to our table. I smiled hopefully as Wannabe by the Spice Girls echoed through the room. George and Alicia would have no idea that when I was nine I was obsessed with them but it was still a fun song. Considering that the restaurant was mostly empty since we were eating lunch at two, I did a twirl and shimmy. George and Alicia laughed at me. I grabbed George's hand and pulled him out of his seat to dance. George shook his head and protested but when Alicia laughed he joined me and let me guide him around. He even smiled.

The song ended and Heaven Is A Place On Earth by Belinda Carlyle began playing. I grabbed Alicia's hand and joined her and George's. They looked unsure at first.

"Oh, come on. You came all the way here to have fun and damn it, you're going to have fun!" I said. Alicia smiled and twirled into George's arms. I watched as they happily danced. I even lifted Willa out of her car seat to watch them dance and I danced around with her a little bit.

That song ended and I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick played.

"Pool?" I asked George and Alicia who were finally wearing smiles.

"There's a pool in here?" George asked, looking around. I laughed and gestured to the pool table near the jukebox. The thing about the ShoreHouse was that it was a small cozy place where there was music, you could play pool or darts (even though they were muggle games), and the service was friendly.

"No. Do you want to _play_ pool?" I said. George looked at the table in confusion.

"So let me get this straight, I hit the ball with this stick and aim it for one of the holes?" George asked once I had explained the game to him.

"Correct." I said.

"All right." George agreed, rolling up his sleeves and grabbing a pool stick. He aimed for the white ball, using the bottom end of the stick. He hit it into the corner pocket and smiled.

"Or something like that." I said. Alicia was giggling; despite being a witch she knows what pool was. With Alicia's help we managed to explain the concept of pool to George and began playing a very off game. They rotated holding Willa while I shot and I held her while they shot. The music continued to play while we played pool. I had done something because now they were smiling at each other and he had his arms around her. George was even joking.

"Call Ron and tell him to skip out on work. He needs to be here with us. If I had to dance…he needs to be dancing." George said. It had already been an hour and a half that we'd been here. At this rate, he'd probably end up meeting us here for dinner as well.

Eventually our food came. We abandoned the pointless pool game and sat down to eat.

"So what's been going on with you guys? I feel like, we're missing so much." I said.

"You are." George answered. "But we have forgiven you." He smiled at me and bit into a handful of french-fries. "Oh, these are amazing!" Alicia looked at him in disgust and daintily ate one of her own fries.

"How are things for you?" Alicia asked. "Was it hard adapting to being parents?" She looked earnestly interested in this question. I did also take note that George looked pointedly down at his burger.

"You know what, at first I thought it was going to be overwhelming but I love it." I answered. "This little girl is the most important thing in our lives and just watching her grow…it's amazing." I smiled at my daughter and then back at Alicia and George. "It's weird how easy it is for things to change after you have a baby but I know it's the greatest change ever." Alicia smiled when I told her this and looked at George who wasn't looking back.

"And Ron feels the same way?" Alicia asked, still looking at George.

"He comes home every day from work and kisses me and then picks her up and walks around the house with her for a while as the two of us talk about our days. He loves her so much it's incredible. He loves having Thursdays with her, just the two of them." I answered.

"That's great." Alicia said, back to her forced smile.

"So any chance we can borrow your car tomorrow?" George asked, changing the topic.

"Borrow my car?" I asked in alarm.

"Well there's nothing really to do if we're stuck at your place all day while you're at school and Ron's at work. We were thinking of going to the San Diego Zoo one day and the Los Angeles another." George said. "'Mione, we really needed this break from everything to spend some time together and talk about…_things_ so we'd like to do something while we're here." I thought about what he said and knew I couldn't deny him my car. It wasn't like Ron could let them borrow his car. I'd be afraid to see what George could do with a big car like that.

"I suppose you could drop me off at school and then Graye could give me a ride home." I said.

"Great!" George exclaimed. "You're the best Hermione." I smiled and looked over at Alicia who looked slightly happy as well as very hungry.

x

As afraid as I was to let them borrow my car, I did. They came with me while I dropped Willa off at Gabby's and then I drove to school. George sat in the front seat with me while Alicia sat in the back, looking slightly sick.

"Directions to L.A. and back are in the glove compartment; drive on the right side of the road; don't do anything illegal (except drive without a license); and please bring my car home in one piece." I said as I gathered my books from the backseat.

"We'll be fine." George assured me as he slid into the front seat and adjusted the seat. "Remember when I drove your car that summer?"

"Yes, you nearly gave Ron and Fred a heart attack." I responded, balancing a stack of books. "And you thought the reasoning that you should be able to drive was because you drove a flying car before."

"Flying car?" Alicia asked in alarm. "This car doesn't fly, right?" Her face looked even paler than it was a second ago.

"No, of course not. I wouldn't drive a flying car with the – you." He put a reassuring hand on her knee. She looked only slightly relieved.

"Be careful." I said as I watched the car drive off and George wave through the sunroof. That could have possibly been the worst mistake I ever made…or it was possible that I didn't have enough faith in George.

After my last class that afternoon Graye drove me home where I got the stroller and walked down to Gabby's to pick Willa up. Ron was home a little later and after waiting a reasonable amount of time we ate dinner, nervously waiting for George and Alicia to return.

At half past nine they entered through the garage door. Ron and I had been trying to focus on a movie. Alicia had shopping bags in her arms and George was wearing a t-shirt that said he visited Hollywood, also carrying shopping bags.

"That was so much fun." Alicia said, carrying the bags into the living room and depositing them on the floor. She and George were staying in the guest room that I had just created magically. It wasn't a permanent thing and I hadn't done that kind of magic since Hogwarts but it was a nice little room with a bed and all the stuff they'd need.

"Loads of fun." George agreed. He took out a small onesie that read _Hollywood_. "We got this for Willa."

"How's my car?" I blurted out instead of thank you.

"Only some minor bumping." George said.

"Minor bumping?!" I asked in alarm.

"Sorry." George said, quickly. "It was a joke. We fixed the damages."

"Damages?!" Ron asked in shock. He had been determined to know how cars worked so that he could fix them if necessary. He hadn't really gotten that far although I'm pretty sure he wanted to sound like it was a big thing.

"Joke, again!" George exclaimed laughing. Alicia even cracked a smile.

"Well put your things away and I'll make some tea. You can tell us about your day." I said feeling incredibly relieved and hearing myself sound somewhat like Molly. My car was in one piece and both George and Alicia were back in one piece.

x

They borrowed my car again on Wednesday, this time they were in route for the San Diego Zoo and then they were going to stop at the Gazette office to see how it was all progressing. The second time around I was less worried and when they arrived home in one piece I was relieved although I sensed that they were in a worse place than they were when they left. Alicia didn't look to good and George had returned to his sullen mood.

I wanted to find out what was wrong with them but I hadn't expected this all to happen at two in the morning. After feeding, burping, and changing Willa Ron went down for a glass of water. I was on my way from Willa's room to my room, when I heard a conversation going on downstairs. As quietly as I could I stepped down the carpeted steps and sat down where I wouldn't be seen but I could still see. I saw George sitting on the couch with some papers spread out in front of him. The room was lit by his wand and he was furiously going through papers.

"Sorry." He was saying to Ron. "I was just going over some papers." He hastily shuffled some papers together, dropping some in the process. Swearing quietly, he reached down to pick them up.

"What's going on with you?" Ron asked, bluntly. "You've been out of it almost the entire week and Alicia seems either sick or upset." I was surprised as I watched George drop the papers onto the coffee table and sink onto the couch with his head in his hands. Ron was frozen at the foot of the stairs while George stayed still for a moment. Finally George looked up.

"I would say that you wouldn't understand but you're probably the only one who really does." George said. "Alicia's pregnant."

Ron seemed to struggle with himself for a moment. He knew the proper response to that statement was 'congratulations' but by the way George looked, it was not the right thing to say.

"How far along?" Ron finally asked. He fell into the chair and watched George who stared at the coffee table.

"Just a little over a month." George said. "We found out a week and a half ago and it's been the most miserable week and a half of our lives." He took a deep breath. "I'm older than you and I can't deal with this properly." He scoffed.

"What's the problem?" Ron questioned. "I mean, if Ginny can tell mum that she's having a baby I'm pretty sure she's not going to care that you are."

"No, it's not that." George said a little aggressively. "It's about the lack of room in our place as well as in our lives and the surprise that this is for us." George sunk a little lower in the couch. "And the fact that I can't be a dad."

"What are you talking about? Of course you can be a dad." Ron said.

George ignored him. He lifted up a handful of papers and then threw them down again. "We're looking for a house in our price range to make room for a new baby but Alicia and I both have our issues to deal with. She's worried that she won't know how to be a proper mother because she never had a mother and I – I'm just not material to be a dad and I'm so distracted by this that I'm not helping her with her issue while she's the one carrying it." He gave a frustrated sigh that was completely un-George. It was strange to see him like this, open and vulnerable.

"George, I hate to sound cliché here but you've got it in you. You're going to be a good father." Ron said. "I know from experience. After Hermione told me I just kind of broke down and went inside myself while she talked. For the next seven months I was scared to death but Willa came and everything changed. I knew what I had to do because I loved her. You can ask Harry the same question and he'll give you the same answer." I smiled as I listened to Ron talk like this. I knew it all but it was nice hearing it come from him.

"It's weird seeing you with a kid." George said. "And Harry too. I rarely see the two of you and then when I do you've got a baby in your arms and you can take care of her like you're supposed to. I know I'll be able to do the feeding and changing stuff but I'm going to be a dad in eight months and it's all overwhelming to think that I'm responsible for another life when I just learned to be a responsible husband and care for Alicia."

"That's the thing though." Ron said, quickly. I think I was the only one who noticed that he was figuring these things out as he went along. "Learning. You learn to adapt to the change in your life like marriage or fatherhood." He smiled, realizing his brilliance. "Once your child is here you learn to take care of it and the fact that you love this little person more than anything just makes it so much easier." George finally looked up at Ron with what looked like admiration on his face.

"Hey, if you can do it, it's probably not that hard." George said, coming around slightly.

"Think about it." Ron said. "Some kid in the future asks Willa what her dad does. She says he's a newspaperman but then he turns to your child and asks what his or her dad does and he or she says he owns a joke shop. You get to be the cool dad." George laughed.

"Yeah, I guess joke shop beats out owner of a worldwide paper in the cool department." He chuckled.

At this point Ron hadn't solved everything for George but instead he made the idea of having a baby slightly easier to deal with.

"And as for Alicia's problem." Ron said. "Have her talk with mum. Mum can help her through this."

"No." George said. "I'll figure it out but this is between my wife, my unborn child, and me. I'm going to be the one to help her through this."

Ron smiled at George and nodded. George began gathering his papers up.

"Thanks Ron." George said as he headed back to the wand-made guestroom.

"Sure." Ron responded. They both went their separate ways while I climbed the stairs to get back to bed.

I laid down, pretending I had been asleep all along but I couldn't help but smile and lean over to kiss my brilliant husband when he got back in bed. Ron had no idea what he did to deserve the affection from me but I could tell he felt proud of himself for helping George.

Life changes all the time. Sometimes I don't even realize it. It's like how moving away and creating a life here has been such a change that it led me to forget about family back home. Or how sometimes we don't take the time to realize the impact change has on those around us like how I never realized how Longbottom Magictronics were going to affect the Wizarding world. There's also the earth shattering changes that will change life forever. Watching someone go through the difficult process of accepting the fact that a baby is going to come and change their life is somewhat strange. I had gone through that myself but this time around I had the outsider's perspective in the mix. George and Alicia may not be ready at the moment but in eight months time they would be capable of dealing with the change a baby would bring. I can almost guarantee it since I too have experience with that type of change.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!! WHAT DID YOU THINK???? -Kylie**


	5. Family

**a/n: Hey again! Here's chapter five! I just finished writing six and started on seven. As soon as seven is done I'll put six up! But still review please!!!**

**And to Vivian: No, I'm not going to write Fred and Tonks and Lupin's death. My stories don't follow HBP or DH (although sometimes I do add in a few things from their like Luna's father's name as her baby's middle name)****. And to be honest I wouldn't be able to write the deaths in. It would be too sad. Thanks for reading and reviewing:)**

**Now, here's chapter five!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_The family is one of nature's masterpieces. -George Santayana, The Life of Reason _

As an only child, I always wondered what it would have been like to have brothers and sisters. When I got married, I ended up with six...of each!

Having the Weasley family was one of the most important things in the world to me. I was incredibly blessed to be a part of this family and realized that my daughter was lucky to be born into a big family with five cousins, six aunts and six uncles, two wonderful grandparents, and another cousin on the way. The Weasley family was the most loving and fun family. They love you no matter where you came from (meaning me as a muggleborn) or how unplanned you were (meaning Willa as the unplanned pregnancy to two young parents). It was somewhere where I felt I belonged and felt like I was part of the most amazing family ever.

As eager as I was for Willa to really get to know all of them, I was afraid what going back would be like. Surely Molly knew about my parents' divorce. Was she going to make a big deal out of it? Was Fred still angry that we left? Will the little ones be able to handle another baby around to take up the attention? And the most important question that plagued me: were Harry and Ginny angry that we haven't been keeping touch, as we should?

I knew Ron was feeling the same way as we got ready that morning (early morning. It was five a.m. and when we got to England, it would be one p.m.). This was his family; the family that had raised him and helped shape him into the wonderful man he is today but we had moved an ocean away from them. Ron had the idea in his head that they were all going to be mad at him because it 'was his fault' we moved because of his job. I assured him that it wouldn't be like that but then wondered if it was my fault for pulling Ron away from them...I don't know. I was his wife. It had been our agreeing decision to move...

I dressed in a pair of jeans with a comfortable black sweater and my Ugg boots. I brushed my short hair and fell onto the bed with an exasperated sigh. Ron pulled his head through a green long-sleeved t-shirt and sat next to me, placing his hand on my knee.

"When we wrote they said they were looking forward to Weasley Sundays." He told me. "Mum said she couldn't wait to get this tradition started and she hasn't seen Willa since the day before we left."

"Yeah." I sighed heavily. "I think I'm making this into a much bigger deal than it actually is." I noted, falling back on the bed. Ron lay next to me and grabbed my hand.

"We both are. And you know what? If they're mad at us, so what? Really all we're concerned about is them knowing Willa while we live here. After I left George and Alicia alone with Willa for a half hour last Thursday, they couldn't get enough of her. I'm sure everyone else will be excited to see her too." Ron said. I chuckled slightly.

"You still think you're the reason that they're in the process of buying a house, Alicia couldn't wait to decorate her baby's room, and George was planning out his child's future to follow in his footsteps?" I questioned. "You think you're the reason they're becoming domestic?" I turned my head to look at Ron.

"Well it was my brilliant talk with George and my great idea to run to the store for a half-hour and beg them to watch Willa." Ron said.

"You were brilliant." I agreed. Ron smiled at me. I leaned forward and kissed him before sitting up and getting my things together. "Well we better get going." I was afraid to be the one Apparating with Willa but Ron said that I was the better one for the job since she lived in me and I had never splinched.

"Ok." Ron said, taking a deep breath. He slung Willa's diaper bag over his shoulder while I had the unfortunate task of waking her up.

I walked into Willa's room to find her sleeping. I felt guilty about waking her up. Since she had been teething, she had difficulty sleeping. Tonks had recommended a potion to ease the pain a little but it only helped slightly with her sleep. Even though I didn't want to wake her, I wanted her to be awake for her first Apparating experience. It would not be fun either way but at least she would know it was coming. She cried when I woke her up and dressed her. She continued to scream as Ron and I prepared to Apparate with her for the first time.

"It's all right baby girl." I said. I kissed her forehead and squeezed my eyes shut. "It'll all be over soon." I said before I felt myself and Willa start to Apparate. Willa was screaming louder by the time we opened our eyes in front of the Burrow. She was crying and screaming. I felt my heart break for her while I checked to make sure that every part of her made the journey. I looked at Ron, helplessly while tears welled in my eyes. I know Apparating takes getting used to and for Willa it must have been such an uncomfortable experience.

Ron took Willa from my arms and put the purple pacifier in her mouth. She didn't want it and cried. Ron took another approach and started slowly rocking her until she calmed down and then he stuck the pacifier in her mouth. Ron smiled at me.

"It wasn't so bad." He decided. "I think we handled it well." I nodded and smiled at him and Willa.

"Let's get on with the next part then." I said, gesturing to the door. Ron nodded and we began walking.

February was still a winter month and small patches of snow lay on the ground. It took my body some getting used to the cold in England. I shivered and had Ron wrap another blanket on Willa as we approached the front door of the Burrow. I had merely knocked once when the door opened and a beaming Molly answered the door.

"Come in, come in. You poor things must be freezing. Don't worry the fire's on. Oh my, Willa look how you've grown. Arthur, isn't she just the most adorable thing? Can I hold her?" Ron handed Willa to Molly and we shuffled into the house to see that we were not the first ones there. Fred, Angelina, George, and Alicia sat on the couches talking and laughing; Charlie and Alison were watching Max waddle around the floor, examining things; and Bill and Fleur were talking with Tonks and Lupin (who were honorary family members) while Lex, Cecilia and Penny worked together on building a tower of blocks. When Penny saw us, she abandoned the blocks and rushed to Ron and me.

"Kitty?" She asked excitedly. "Kitty here?" I bent down to pick her up. She was getting so big! I could still remember when she was Willa's size.

"No, sorry little girl. Kitty is at home sleeping." I said.

"No kitty?" Penny asked. She stuck out her bottom lip as tears welled in her eyes. Lupin quickly got up and joined Ron and I with Penny.

"Penny, what about Mittens?" Lupin asked. "Your kitty is at home."

"Black kitty." She said, pointing at Ron and me.

"Kitty needed her sleep." Ron informed her. "She was tired."

"Kitty sleep?" Penny asked, looking at her daddy to confirm this. Lupin nodded.

"Oh." Penny said. She looked down at the block castle that Lex and Cecilia were still working on. She had already gotten bored with this. "Down!" she demanded. I moved to let her go but Lupin stopped me.

"Penny, how do we ask nicely?" Lupin questioned her sternly.

"Down pease!" Penny demanded. I laughed and Lupin nodded, letting me know it was ok to let her go. I set her down and she went running to help build the tower but in her rush, she knocked over the tower. The fall sent her and the other two into squeals of laughter.

Today Penny had sparkling turquoise eyes with her usual light brown hair that matched her father's although there were several streaks of color in it one was red, one was pink and one was purple. She was wearing a little dress that looked as if Ginny Potter designed it especially for this adorable little metamorphagus. Alexis who everyone just refers to as Lex now, was the most handsome little guy. He had blond hair with the same blue eyes as his daddy. He seemed to get along with all the other children and he was wearing a sweater with an 'A' on it made by Molly with a pair of jean overalls. His sister, Cecilia, was as beautiful as ever. Her silvery blonde hair had grown to her back and was plaited in pigtails. Her blue eyes sparkled while she laughed; there was no denying that this little girl was going to grow into a beautiful woman who all the boys would be after (that is if they could get past Bill). She was wearing a little sweater dress that looked as if Molly had designed it as well. Then there was Max who was still getting the hand of walking. He wasn't old enough to be playing as roughly with the other three children but he was getting somewhere as he waddled around, exploring the furniture. He had Charlie's red hair and Alison's green eyes. Charlie continued to boast to anyone who would listen that Max was going to be one of the best Quidditch players. Max had on a pair of jeans and a Falmouth Falcons t-shirt to support his Uncle Harry. Willa was the fifth baby there. She was now awake and alert, watching everyone else as she sat in her perch of Molly's arms. I had dressed her in a sweater that Molly gave her for Christmas. It was purple (Willa's color) with 'W.E.W' embroidered in silver on it. As well as the sweater, she was wearing a denim skirt with thick black leggings and a baby sized pair of Ugg boots. The minute Molly walked into the room holding Willa, everyone got up to see the baby that they hadn't seen in months.

"Look at her, she's adorable." Alison said. Charlie stuck his finger out for Willa to grab.

"Oh, she eez just precious." Fleur said, smiling at her.

"Absolutely gorgeous." Angelina agreed, looking at the baby dreamily. Alicia put her hands over her own stomach while George snaked his arms around her and resting his hands on top of hers.

"Hermione she looks just like you." Tonks said. "But she has–"

"The Weasley Blues." Molly finished for her.

"She's my granddaughter and she's beautiful." Arthur said, staring at her with lovey eyes.

"I can't believe something so cute...actually has part of Ron's genes." Fred said. It was nice…in a way.

"What are you talking about? You're my brother. Besides George, you look like me too." Ron protested, glaring at Fred. Bill got into it as well and pulled Fred into a headlock.

"That's really mature." Fred said, struggling to get out of the headlock. "In front of your children too."

The doorbell rang, interrupting everyone. Molly passed Willa to Arthur and went to answer the door. Arthur sat down in a chair with Willa while everyone gathered around him. The other four babies in the room noticed the fact that they were no longer the center of attention. Penny abandoned her blocks and waddled over, grabbing Tonks' leg. Tonks lifted her up so she could get a better look at Willa.

"Bay-bee?" Penny, asked enunciating the word.

"Yes, this is Baby Willa." Tonks said.

"Bay-bee." Penny repeated, watching Willa in Arthur's arms. Lex and Cecilia abandoned the blocks as well and crowded around Arthur in the chair. Lex reached out to touch Willa's face but Fleur grabbed his hand.

"No, we do not touch ze baby, Lex." Fleur said, kindly. She lifted her son up so he could only watch.

"Sorry we're late mum." I heard from the hallway. "Lily just couldn't find anything to wear."

"She did have a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt that supported her daddy's team but you nearly threw that away."

"Harry, she's a girl. It's fine for her to have the shirt…and maybe wear it to bed but not out in public."

I smiled as I listened to the voices of my friends. It had been almost two months since we last saw each other…and Lily-Lyn was three months old now. Ron and I anxiously turned to the doorway of the living room.

Ginny walked in with a fancy diaper bag on her shoulder. She was dressed as if she were walking the streets of Paris in a black dress that was long-sleeved and came down to her knees. She had on a tall pair of boots and her hair was gracefully pulled up. For an eighteen-year-old, she looked as if she could be older. Her face definitely showed maturity. Harry followed her holding Lily to him. He was wearing a pair of designer jeans and a black button up shirt. His daughter in his arms was wearing a white onesie and black skirt.

I held my breath as they walked in. Ron was by my side and I knew he was feeling the same anxiety that I was. Finally, Ginny placed the diaper bag and her purse down on the floor. She looked up and saw Ron and I. First, she let out a squeal and then, showing her actual age, she ran over and threw her arms around our necks.

"I can't believe it's been this long! You guys have so much color in your faces! Hermione, I love your hair! I missed you so much! Where's Willa? Where's my adorable little goddaughter?" Ginny released our necks and looked around for Willa.

"She's right here." Arthur said. Ginny excitedly joined the group, staring at Willa. Harry walked forward with a smile on his face. Without saying anything, Ron walked forward and Harry handed Lily to him. Ron carefully held, Lily watching her bright green eyes look around the room. I reached out and hugged Harry.

"Sorry it's been so long." I said.

"Don't worry about t." Harry said. And just like that everything was back to normal again. I stood by Ron's side and watched Lily. There were faint traces of red hair growing in on top of her head. She was a beautiful baby; the perfect mixture of Harry and Ginny. Ron passed Lily to me and then looked at Harry. They smiled at each other and instead of going for the "guy hug" that I knew they really wanted to do, they slapped each other on the back. Ginny joined our group of four with Willa in her arms. Willa was making her usual sounds and Ginny was going crazy over them.

"I can't believe it." She said shaking her head as tears came. "She's gotten so big."

"Tell me about it." I said, looking at Lily. "Last time I saw this beautiful little girl, she could barely open her eyes."

"Aren't they adorable?" Ginny asked. "They're Harry's."

"Yeah." I smiled at Ginny. "You should see Willa. She's rolling over on the floor and it's adorable."

"Rolling?" Ginny asked. "Oh wow. Pretty soon she'll be crawling…and walking…and talking…" Ginny started to cry and Ron relieved her of Willa while Harry took Lily from my arms. I was on the verge of crying too. Ginny hugged me again and cried. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm so emotional." She said. "I just missed you guys but every time I went to pick up the phone, it wasn't the right time there and then I got the pictures of Willa…"

"I know. I felt the same way. I kept thinking about you guys and…I'm sorry." I replied.

"Me too!" Ginny agreed. We pulled back from the hug and looked at each other. Seconds later we both began laughing. I saw Harry and Ron sitting on the couch, shaking their heads at us. Willa was fussing in Ron's arms and Lily was looking around in Harry's. Lex, Cecilia, and Penny followed the babies over to the couch. They pulled themselves up on the couch next to Harry and Ron so they could watch the babies.

Once again the doorbell rang. Molly returned with Percy, Penelope, and a growing Greg. Molly smiled at the entire family before her while Penelope placed Greg (who had growing red hair and the Weasley Blues) down on the play mat with Max. I watched as she smiled while her entire family interacted before her.

"Molly, deed you need 'elp wiz lunch?" Fleur asked. Molly broke from her trance and nodded.

"Yes, thank you Fleur." She said. Angelina joined them in the kitchen while everyone went back to watching the new generation of Weasleys interact. Ginny and I sat down on the floor in front of Ron and Harry. We pulled Max and Greg onto our laps and fussed over how big they got. That was until they wriggled their way out of our grasps and began crawling around again.

"How do you like being a mum?" I asked Ginny. Ginny looked up at Lily who was lying against Harry's chest.

"Hermione, it's the most amazing thing in the world. It's just indescribable how much I love her." Ginny said, smiling dreamily. I nodded and smiled to myself when I remembered how nervous she was before Lily was born.

"I know what you mean." I said and leaned back against Ron's legs. Lex, Cecilia, and Penny had finally gotten bored with the babies. Ginny looked up at Harry who was in a Quidditch discussion with Ron.

"The most amazing thing is how Harry is with her." She informed me in a whisper. "He's a really great dad and can't get enough of her. When she smiled for the first time he was so happy he wouldn't shut up about it. He even brings pictures to practice so the rest of the team can see her."

"Really?" I asked, recalling the nervous Harry only weeks before Lily's birth. Ginny nodded.

"He's the best." Ginny assured me. "We're set up to do interviews with a few magazines about Lily. Harry can't wait to show her off to the world." I smiled, truly happy for the new parents.

"And how's the wedding planning going?" I questioned.

"Well, my matron of honor," Ginny said as an even bigger smile broke out on her face. "Mark your calendar for July twenty-fifth."

"You set a date?" I asked, excitedly.

"Yes." Ginny responded. "And I've started on my dress and we have the church and the reception hall. And my little Willa is going to be my flower girl while my little Lily flower will escort mum down the aisle."

"Gin, that's so great. I can't believe you're getting married – you are getting married right? I mean, no back outs this time right?" I said, jokingly. Ginny laughed.

"No. We're actually getting married this time." Ginny said.

"When pigs fly," scoffed George. He and Fred were wresting with the three oldest children on the floor.

"Well then come on." Ginny said. "I'll take you outside right now and make a pig fly!" We all laughed and Ginny took the opportunity to pounce on George.

"Everyone get Uncle George!" Charlie yelled. Lex, Cecilia, Penny, and Fred jumped on George after Ginny. The room began to fill with laughter. I looked around at all the laughing faces and felt at home. I smiled up at Ron and Willa who were watching the wrestling match on the floor, listening to the squeals of laughter from Lex, Cecilia, and Penny. I looked to Harry who was holding Lily to him and explaining that this was the greatest family ever. And I watched as Molly came in, laughing and telling everyone that lunch was ready. This was family…the best family and I was a part of it.

x

Willa went down for a nap after I fed her, as did most of the other little ones. Lex was the last one up but he was nodding off in his mother's arms while we all sat around the table drinking tea and catching up.

"So what's so great about California that you haven't come running home yet?" Charlie asked us. Ron and I laughed.

"It's really great." I said. "You'd love it if you came to visit."

"It was an amazing place." Alicia agreed. "We had so much fun there."

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad." George agreed.

"How's school going Hermione?" Molly asked. She had been especially kind to me since we got here and although I'm sure she was genuinely interested in my education, I was just waiting for her to ask me about how I was after my parents' split.

"Wonderful." I answered. "The classes are great and I'm learning about history in much more detail." Molly smiled kindly at me. She opened her mouth to say something else but Ron cut her off. I think he knew what she might say too.

"You should see the pacific ocean." Ron said to Charlie. "It's the greatest. Pretty soon it'll be warm enough to take Willa in _and_ there's a pool right down the street from our house." He smiled triumphantly as if having a pool and a beach near our home was an accomplishment.

"We just might have to take Max on a trip there." Charlie said, looking over at his wife who seemed to like the idea.

"Count us in too." Bill agreed. "It'll be fun to take Lex and Cecilia to the beach for the very first time."

"Yes. Zat would be fun. A family treep." Fleur agreed smiling.

"Well I want to see what the hubbub about California is so Angelina and I are coming too." Fred said. He took a quick look at Angelina to see if she was ok with the idea. Angelina smiled.

"Count us in too!" George said. "We might be having a baby but we can still have fun."

"If everyone's going then I guess we'll have to go too." Harry said, smiling.

"Oh, I just bought Lily and brand new bathing suit! Now she'll get to use it!" Ginny exclaimed.

"We'll make a family trip out of it." Molly said. She beamed and beckoned a calendar forth with her wand. "Remus, Tonks, you'll come too right?" She looked up at the couple who stayed quiet. They looked quite honored to be included in this family trip. They looked at each other and turned back to Molly.

"Yes, of course we'll be there." Tonks said, beaming.

"Make it sometime when it'll be warmer," advised Ron. "Right now it's almost March and the temperature is comfortable but you still have to have a light coat on."

"April isn't good for us." Fred said. "George and I have the April Fools Month Sale and the stores are packed."

"I'm opening up the French _Ginny Potter_." Ginny said. "April isn't good for me either."

"May?" Arthur asked, looking over his wife's shoulder at the calendar.

"May works for us." I said, looking around the table for everyone's agreement. There was a chorus of "yeah, May's good" and everyone turned to their spouses to double-check that they would come visit us in May.

"May it is then!" Molly exclaimed gleefully. She began choosing the week in May while we heard the sound of a baby crying. Harry looked alarmed at first but then realized it was not Lily and relaxed. I knew the sound of my baby crying in an instant.

"Poor girl, she's teething." I said. I grabbed the diaper bag where I stashed some of the amber potion that eased her pain slightly. Ron was already going to retrieve her.

I met Ron in the living room with a crying Willa. He was trying the biting toys meant for her while teething but it wasn't helping.

"Here we go baby girl." I fed her the potion and her crying slowly abated. Ron gave her the biting toy and she was calm again.

"You make it look easy." We turned to the door to see George watching us. He walked further into the room where he stood by my shoulder, watching Willa gnaw on her toy. I passed her to him and he stared down at her.

"It's really not that hard." Ron assured him. "Remember, if I can do it you can?" George chuckled and tore his gaze from Willa only to give Ron a smile.

"I'm not worried about that." George assured Ron. "It's just strange knowing that I'll have my own one of these."

At that moment before Ron or I could pull out the reassuring clichés, Alicia rushed out of the kitchen with her hand covering her mouth. (Oh how I didn't miss morning sickness in the least.) George passed Willa back to me and started after her.

"Duty calls!" He called as he left us. He didn't need the trite clichés. He would be fine on his own. Ron fell onto the couch with a sigh while Willa and I sat next to him. I placed Willa in a sitting position in between us. She smiled up at me, looking proud to be sitting up like mummy and daddy. I loved that look.

"Well, this quite the day." Ron said. He was smiling but I think there was something behind it.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"It's been fun." He said. "It's great to have the whole family here together and have Fred and George tease me like always and Ginny butt in with stupid jokes and then Bill and Charlie get into it too and before you know it the seven of us have got a row going on about something as stupid as who ate the last cookie." Ron chuckled and looked at me. "I just realized how different things are though. Good different," he added for the look on my face. "It's great that all the kids are here but it's strange to know that things aren't the same as they were back when we all lived here." He looked down at Willa who was attempting to take her shoes off. "I don't think I'm making any sense." He noted.

"No, I get it." I said, kindly. "The family that you grew up with isn't the same anymore. Almost everyone has kids, you have a kid too, and surprisingly George is having one. I understand what you mean but think about it this way, Willa will get to grow up with all of them. She'll have all these crazy uncles and cousins to play and fight with. She gets to be a Weasley now and you get to watch her blend into this incredible family." Ron smiled and looked down at Willa again. She looked back up at him, smiling and making noises.

"It is the best family." Harry agreed, stepping into the living room and sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of us. "And Willa's lucky to be a part of it. I know I am." Ron and I smiled at him. "And I'm glad Lily is too. I want her to have a whole family with no person left out. Thankfully she's got two of the best godparents." Suddenly, it hit me. The reason Harry had become such a devoted and caring dad was because he realized that he didn't want his daughter growing up without a family like he had. Until the Weasley family came along, he had no one and didn't know what it was like to truly be part of a family. He now had that family who loved him and he wanted his daughter to be loved just as much so that he put his fears aside to take care of her. By the look on his face, I could tell that he was now truly happy with Ginny and Lily…with his family.

Harry looked at Willa who was watching Uncle Harry with interest.

"Hey there Beautiful." He said smiling at her. "You are the luckiest girl in the world to have Ron and Hermione as your dad and mum. They're my best friends and they're the greatest people I know."

"Ahyaalaahyaaa." Willa said as she gnawed on her toy. Harry chuckled.

"And you've got the best godfather in the world." Ron added. "He may not play for the Cannons but we still love him anyways. He's the greatest." Harry laughed at the Quidditch comment and when Willa saw his face light up and laugh, she smiled and let out a giggle. A giggle! It was the most amazing sound ever. It was her laugh! Ron and I beamed while I lifted her up and held her up.

"She laughed!" I exclaimed, laughing at her and trying to keep it going. "Uncle Harry made you laugh girly." Willa just stared at me, smiling. "Can you laugh for mama? Come on!"

"Look at this Wil." Ron said. He stuck out his tongue and crossed his eyes. Willa looked over at him and laughed again.

"Oh Ron, she's laughing." I said again. I made my own funny face and she laughed at me. Ron's eyes met mine and we smiled. I leaned forward and kissed him.

"Gin, come out here! Willa's laughing!" Harry exclaimed.

The three of us probably looked ridiculous to the rest of the family who came out to see us making faces at Willa but they soon joined in. Fred who mocked us in the beginning looked triumphant when his face got her to laugh the longest.

x

As the hour grew later the family began gathering their things and children to leave.

"Penny's got to be home to feed Mittens or she'll worry that the kitty will starve." Tonks said as the clock struck six. I hugged the three of them and smiled. Was Willa going to be concerned about her kitty being fed when she was aware enough to know that Midnight was another living, breathing being?

"Lex and Cecilia have an eight o'clock bedtime and they usually get to play for an hour in their pajamas." Bill said at six-thirty. It took him some time to gather his children and for Fleur to get them dressed for the chilly weather. I thought about Willa going home and rolling around on the floor while she shook the rattle that entertained her most before Ron and I put her to bed at eight.

"Max has an early day tomorrow. I'm taking him to work with me." Charlie said at seven when Max began to nod off in his mother's arms. I imagined Ron taking Willa to work with him and being a little journalist at the Gazette.

"Greg has a strict schedule that he follows. He brushes his teeth at eight and then we read him a story and he's in bed by eight-thirty." Percy said at seven-thirty. I saw Willa in a couple months standing on a stool at the sink, brushing her teeth and then Ron taking her to bed so I could read her a story.

"We're not having kids at the moment so we're going to go home and try for some." Fred said sarcastically at eight. I pictured him as a dad in the future and coming to visit us with his wife and child. He definitely had it in him.

"Alicia's getting tired." George said at eight-fifteen. I knew he was going to be a good dad when his child came. He also had it in him.

As I said goodbye to the family and listened to each excuse they had for leaving, it made me realize how much it was different. The way everyone was around each other and the way the kids stole the attention…it was wonderful. It wasn't the same but it was family and family is there for you through thick and thin…when you change, they change. The Weasley family had definitely changed as new additions made their way into the family.

"So the weekend after Ron's birthday you'll come to Paris?" Ginny asked. "And we'll come visit you the weekend before I open the new _Ginny Potter_." She double-checked, holding her sleeping daughter to her.

"Yes. And say hello to Sasha and Trey for us. We've missed them." I said.

"Of course." Ginny said. She reached out to give me a one arm hug while I did the same, holding Willa with the other arm. She looked as if she might tear up again. We smiled at each other while we turned to say our goodbyes to Harry and Ron.

"Good luck with the match on Saturday. Kick the Tornados' ass." I said to Harry who chuckled at me.

"I will." He assured me. "And I'd tell you to have fun at school but we all know that's a given." I laughed and reached out to hug Harry.

"You know Lily-Lyn's a lucky girl too." I said. "She's got a really great dad." Harry smiled at me and I saw that being complemented on his fathering skills made him the happiest.

"Bye beautiful." Harry said to Willa. He kissed her forehead and made a face at her. She giggled again and Harry laughed at the sound of her laugh. "I can't wait to do that for Lily." He noted, watching Willa. I smiled at him and he looked as if he were slightly embarrassed. "It's weird." He said. "You know, how much you love your baby and how things are different." I nodded.

"But I love it." I said. Harry nodded in agreement and hugged me one last time. Ginny began to gather Lily's things while Harry and Ron said goodbye.

"Give me a call if you need any advice on what to do with Lily." Ron said.

"You're the first one I will call, mate." Harry assured him. Ron smiled.

"Oh and also once you've gotten the tickets for the Falcons versus the Cannons. I love you mate but I'm a diehard Cannons fan." Ron said. Harry chuckled.

"I don't blame you." He said. "But they won't win." Ron laughed now and they reached forward for their "guy hug".

"Aw, look at that Willa daddy and Uncle Harry are finally showing their sentimental side." I said. Ron and Harry released each other and looked slightly embarrassed.

"Come on, Harry. We've got to make the Chunnel." Ginny said. She went through and gave one last hug and kiss to the three of us and Harry waved, placing his daughter in the baby carrier. Ron, Willa, and I watched as they went to the kitchen to say goodbye to Molly and Arthur.

"We better hit the road too." Ron said, looking at his watch. "It's almost lunchtime at home and then we can take a walk down to the beach."

"K." I agreed, smiling at Ron. At that moment, Molly and Arthur joined us in the living room. Here it was. I had been waiting for this.

"How are you holding up, Hermione?" Molly asked. "I talked to Ann after she went to visit you."

"I'm fine." I assured her.

"She really is, mum. Willa's been with her and I'm here for her." Ron assured Molly.

"I know." Molly said. "But if you ever need someone to talk to Hermione, I'm here for you. I just want you to know that." I smiled at Molly. I hadn't expected this. I thought she might try to pry out some feelings of distress but no. She was here as a mother-in-law who would listen if I needed someone to talk to.

"Thank you Molly. That means a lot." I said. Molly beamed and reached for her granddaughter. I passed Willa to her while Arthur took a step forward.

"I'm here too, Hermione." He said. "I'm not the best at heart to hearts but I provide the humorous alternative to that." I laughed and hugged him.

"Thanks Arthur."

Molly and Arthur spent a good fifteen minutes saying goodbye to Willa. Finally, they had her all bundled up and ready to go.

"Goodbye Willa Elizabeth. Grammy will see you next week!" Molly said to her as she handed Willa to Ron. Molly and Arthur waved and as I was waving back at them, Willa stuck up one hand, waved it once and put it down.

"Ayyayhaayah." She said which was her way of saying "goodbye Grammy and Grandpa!".

Family is the most precious gift. I was blessed with the greatest one. There was my immediate family: an amazing husband who is there to support me through everything and my little girl who was growing up and learning things so fast it was hard to keep up. Then there was my extended family, the Weasleys. In this big family I had a loving and caring mother-in-law; a fun and loving father-in-law; six redheaded brothers who loved to laugh and joke; five wonderful sisters whom I could learn things about being a mother from; five nieces and nephews to watch grow up and pass wisdom along to; a sister who is my best friend in the entire world; a best friend who is just like a brother to me; and then the three honorary family members who bring their own uniqueness to this crazy and wonderful family.

Like I said, I was lucky to be a part of something amazing. Harry agreed and I would surely bet that the spouses of any of my brothers would agree that they too were very lucky when they married into such a great family.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!! **


	6. Happiness

**a/n: Hey! Ok so first off I would like to thank Eaglechic32 and Anna for prereading this chapter and making sure that everything was ok. Thanks!!!**

**Ok and also I had every name planned for every child that the Weasleys and Potters would have...but I changed my mind and decided that I don't like most of them and especially two names of Ron and Hermione's children. So if anyone has any name ideas that I could use please let me know. There are four sets of twins, thirteen boys, and eight girls aside from the children that are already in the family. (and also _if_ the twins had twins what would they name them?) Thanks!!**

**Ok and on with the chapter...**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Did I tell you how divinely and utterly happy I am? – Holly Golightly, Breakfast At Tiffany's_

Happiness is something we all strive for. No one can honestly tell you that they are perfectly happy and their life is one hundred percent problem free…but I can assure you that mine is as close as it gets. Don't get me wrong, no, of course there are still things in my life that haven't worked themselves out. Last week I received an "A" on a paper when I was sure I had at least achieved an "E"; Willa still doesn't sleep more than four hours in a row leaving me tired and groggy all day; and Ron, as much as I love him, often makes me sit through hours of endless boredom watching movies that are no longer funny after the umpteenth time. Well…those were only minor things that I've learned to deal with. Aside from this I think I would be justified in saying that I am, in fact, a happy person.

Life without happiness…I wouldn't want to imagine it. It would be like going a day without hearing my daughter's laugh or not waking up to find my husband's comforting arms around me. I loved living my days knowing I could smile with a reason to smile. Willa and Ron, they make my life happy…whether it be the adorable little laugh or strong comforting arms, that puts a happy smile on my face daily.

March first was Ron's 20th birthday. I had a little something special planned for him that evening. After all, 20 was a year to celebrate (or so he said to me when I turned 20). It landed on a Wednesday meaning Ron was working at the paper while I had a class to attend that morning.

"I'm sorry but I worked hard on this paper! I really believe that it deserves a higher grade than an 'A'." I argued to the teacher of my History of Magical Creatures class. I stayed after class to try and find reasoning behind my awful "Acceptable" grade.

"Mrs. Weasley, you may have worked hard on that paper. Hell, you could have worked twenty-four hours straight on that paper but it was not what I'm looking for." Professor Lennon pulled off her glasses and fell into a seat behind her desk while I followed her. "Hermione, what I was looking for was a paper about the magical creature of your choosing. You chose Thestrals and you gave me fact after fact about them that I could have read in a book."

"The choose-your-own-creature aspect of this assignment was to get an insight on how much _you_ can tell me about this creature…not a book." Lennon handed my paper back to me with a horrific "A" stamped on the front.

"Is there anything I can do?" I questioned, grabbing the paper and feeling inadequate knowing that that was the "A" I achieved.

"You are granted one reprieve each semester and I think you can take it with this one. Write me another paper, same standards, and have it on my desk tomorrow morning at eight sharp. This time maybe choose a creature that you may actually be able to see and can write about." Lennon said. I wanted to open my mouth and tell her that I was sticking with Thestrals and I'd ridden one before but she would find out tomorrow morning at eight sharp.

"Thank you!" I called, already halfway out the door. Time to get started on the grade I knew I deserved.

I hurried to my car where I threw my books hastily in the back and pulled out. The half-hour drive that is usually not a big deal drove me crazy today. Finally, I reached Gabby's where I hurriedly picked up Willa and thanked Gabby. Within two minutes after that, I was home.

There was a lot to do today and it was already eleven-thirty. I placed Willa down in her playpen where she cried. As much as it bothered me to leave her there when she needed attention, I couldn't run around the room with her in my hands. At the coffee table, I set up stacks of books that I was going to try and use for emergency purposes only and the laptop that Luna had given me at my bridal shower. I pulled my hair back and grabbed a glass of water before lifting a crying Willa out of her playpen.

"Shhh, baby it's all right. Mama's still here." I said. She stopped crying the moment that I lifted her up. I pulled her into my lap as I sat in front of the coffee table to begin working.

Willa was not the easiest person to work with. Whenever I went to type, Willa wanted to type too. When I turned her around so that she was no longer facing the computer she decided she wanted to pull on my face or my shirt. Finally, when I had only one page of work done I stood up with Willa and brought her to her play mat in the center of the living room floor. I laid her on her stomach and left a few toys for her. As a backup I also looked for Midnight who was an excellent baby occupier.

_Where is that cat?_ Since we couldn't let Midnight out in Paris, because it was a city, she stayed an indoor cat but in California we often found her sitting by the sliding glass doors that led to the backyard. We let her go sometimes during the day but she always returned home when we got home. I pulled open the door and Midnight dashed in as if she knew I needed her. Midnight came to the rescue as she pulled herself into a relaxed position a few feet away from Willa. As I sat down at the computer, once again I noticed how big the cat had gotten since we took her in as a stray. She looked especially big today. For a moment, I wondered whether I should be feeding her less but then inspiration struck and I got back to writing.

It took me another hour to polish off two more pages. All together the three pages weren't as satisfying as the six I had with my last paper. I decided to take a break from puling this stuff out of me head instead of books and feed Willa.

After the feeding, burping, and changing I sat for a minute to watch my daughter play. She was lying on her tummy on the mat playing with her toys. When she saw one that was out of reach she would push herself forward on her tummy to go get it. She saw me watching her and smiled.

"Hey there little girly." I said, bringing myself to the floor in front of her. She reached for my nose. "Oh no!" She giggled and I lifted her up into my arms. "Do you know baby, daddy's birthday is today?"

"Ayyayaya." Willa responded.

"Yes, daddy is turning twenty. To you that must seem old but actually we're pretty young." I informed her.

"Aiyeyaalaa." Willa said. I giggled and kissed her forehead.

"You amaze me little girl." I told her. "And no matter how old I am or how old I get, just know that I'll love you forever and ever baby."

"Ooaalayaaaeia." Willa said which, as her mother, I understood to mean, "I know mummy and I'll always love you too."

This was happiness: having a beautiful little baby who was growing into a beautiful little girl and loving her too much for words.

"Ok, you can play with your toys now. Mummy has to work on a paper for a professor who thinks facts aren't what History is about…" I said. Maybe I was being a little unreasonable but I was aggravated and three pages short of perfection. I did actually understand where Professor Lennon was coming from. As I wrote my paper, it began to fill me with the same excitement that I had when I wrote my books. She wanted a story about the Thestrals and that was what I was going to give her.

Another hour went by and I finished five more pages. Willa was napping so I took the opportunity to print my paper and begin wrapping Ron's gifts. I had gotten him a few things that he'd like. Books, movies, and some shirts…I also got him something from Willa, and then I got him a big gift, a stereo system for the house with speakers that would attach outside. Ron was always talking about getting one of those for when we cook on the grill and eat outside.

A whole three and a half hours later, dinner was cooking and I was dressed in something I bought just for Ron. It was a black dress with thin straps and a low cut top. The skirt was flowy and reached my knees. I had a white apron on over the dress and was barefoot while my hair was clipped out of my face. Willa sat in her highchair watching me rush around the kitchen with interest.

"Something smells, amazing!" was said in a sexy voice in my ear. Arms encircled my waist, startling me. I smiled and turned around to see Ron behind me, beaming that smile of his.

"You scared the hell out of me!" I said. I leaned up to kiss him. "Happy birthday, again!"

"Thank you, my love." He said, bending his head forward to kiss me again.

"Twenty…you know you're no longer sleeping with an older woman. You're the same age as me." I joked. Ron laughed.

"We'll talk in a couple months." he assured me. He kissed my nose and smiled at me. Ron then went around the counter to see Willa. She giggled when she saw him. I began working on cooking dinner again.

It took another half hour but dinner was finally ready and Willa was sitting in her highchair with us. Once dinner was over she would stay to sing Happy Birthday to Ron but then it was bedtime for her.

I placed the food on the table with my wand and began to remove my apron.

"Wow." Ron said. His eyes nearly popped out of his head when he got a look at my dress. He gave me a look that made me giggle, the kind of look every woman loves to receive from her husband.

Smiling, I gracefully down into my seat. Ron's eyes stayed on me for another second before I asked him a question to start conversation.

"Uh, yeah…" Ron muttered. He shook his head and looked at my face. "Someone brought in cake and they all sang to me."

"Cake?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes.

"It's my birthday!" Ron protested. He began helping himself to the dinner I made. "Don't tell me _we're_ not having cake."

"We are." I assured him with a smile.

Once dinner was cleaned up, with a wave of my wand, I brought out the cake that was not really cake but fruit. Ron smiled when he saw how I got around the cake obstacle. Willa was in his lap and I began singing Happy Birthday. Willa smiled and then mocked Ron when he blew out the candles.

"Yay!" I cheered, clapping when the fire was extinguished. Willa moved her hands like I moved mine. Ron and I laughed, causing her to giggle. I went and gathered the presents.

Ron cheerfully opened them. "And what's this?" Ron pulled a picture frame from the bag that Willa's gift was in. It was a picture of the two of them taken just recently at the beach. "It's perfect!" Ron exclaimed, kissing Willa's cheek. "It's exactly what I wanted, Wil." She giggled heartily.

Ron opened the rest of his gifts and then stood up with a tired Willa resting on his shoulder.

"Thank you my love." He said. He gave me a kiss.

"Of course." I responded. I kissed him again and then kissed Willa's forehead before Ron brought her up to bed. "Night, baby." I said, waving at her. I watched her yawn before Ron ascended the stairs with her. Once they had disappeared up stairs I turned around and began to clean up the table. I nearly had everything picked up when Ron came back down the stairs.

"Wow." He said, again. "You look hotter when you're cleaning." I laughed and turned away from the sink. I knew I was blushing but I didn't care. Ron walked over to me and pulled me into such a kiss that I dropped the sponge I was holding. My bare feet left the ground for a moment in the heat of our kiss. When our lips parted, we were breathing heavily but I couldn't stop the smile that was working its way across my face.

"Come on." I said. I grabbed his hand, laughing and pulled him for the stairs. Ron smiled after me and followed my lead.

This was happiness: spending an amazing night with your husband and loving him more than possibly imaginable.

A little later that night I sat out on the balcony. I had on one of Ron's Cannon t-shirts and a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. My head was tilted back and I was looking up at the stars, shining brightly in the sky. The sliding door that led to the bedroom opened and Ron walked out wearing a pair of plaid pajama bottoms.

"She's sleeping again." He said, holding up the baby monitor where I could hear Willa's rhythmic breathing.

"Good." I smiled at Ron. I loved that he got up in the middle of the night with Willa and me. When I finish feeding her, he always rocked her until she fell asleep again. It was comforting to know that I was not in this alone.

"Come to bed. You've got a class in the morning." Ron said. He held out a hand for me. I felt a smile play on my lips and took his hand. Five minutes in the chilly California March air was enough to make me want to crawl in bed with Ron's arms around me.

x

After two long days at school, Saturday finally came when we would be journeying to Paris to spend the day with Harry, Ginny, and Lily. We woke up at an unimaginably early hour so that we could be in Paris by one. With a long day ahead of us and an unknown agenda, we dressed up our usual California laidback wardrobe. Ginny, being a fashion icon and all, loved Paris for a ton of reasons but I think that fashion remained in the top five. Harry, fiancé of Miss Fashion Icon, dressed according to what Ginny told him to wear. Since Ron and I were going to their city, we felt that we should probably dress to fit in. Willa joined us in dressing up. She wore a _Ginny Potter_ original in her favorite color, purple. Ron didn't like the idea of dressing up too much. He wore a pair of dark jeans with a navy button down shirt.

"Damn buttons." Ron muttered, tiredly fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. Willa slept in her car seat on the floor of our bedroom while I dressed in a pair of black-cropped pants and a white top with some interesting jewelry.

"Here." I said, pushing Ron's hand away and taking over the buttoning. He managed a smile at me before yawning.

Harry and Ginny greeted us cheerfully when we arrived in Pairs. Harry immediately handed Ron his gift. Ron tiredly tore into it revealing a brand new chess game. (Ron had a collection in the attic of all different kinds of wizard's chess. This one was a glass chess set that was surely going to make a rough game…which was what they found interesting.) I laid Willa to sleep with Lily in Lily's room while Ginny took me to her fashion designing office.

In there I found a binder full of wedding plans…, which Ginny took to explaining to me page by page.

"We're getting married at this adorable little church." She showed me a picture of a very large church that was beautiful and located not too far from where the French Gazette office was. "So far the guest list is up to two hundred."

"Two hundred?" I asked in surprise. "What did you do, invite everyone you've ever met?" Ginny was laughing. "Do you know two hundred people?" I tried to think if I knew two hundred people. The guest list at my small wedding was fifty and only a few people couldn't make it. I realized however, that as much as I wanted the small intimate wedding I got, Ginny wanted a big extravagant wedding.

"It's pretty much just about everyone I've ever met." Ginny said, laughing. "But that's fifty people more than who are coming to the reception." She informed me. She held up a picture of a very large castle type place. This was just outside of Paris. "Oh and look at Willa's dress." She showed me a sketch of a rose pink dress for Willa. It had thin straps that crossed in the back and it would reach her feet.

"I know it's in July, Gin, but you know she won't be able to walk down an aisle." I said. I was unsure of whether or not this would be a problem for her.

"Oh, I know." She chuckled. "You see, Harry will be standing at the altar and then Fred and George will escort mum and Lily down the aisle. They'll take their seats and then Ron will escort Willa down the aisle. She'll drop the flowers, Sasha and Trey will go, after them Neville and Luna, then you'll go, finally dad and I will go."

"Ok." I said, noticing the smile on Ginny's face.

"What?" Ginny asked, noticing me smile at her.

"Nothing." I assured her. "What do they bridesmaid's dresses look like?"

"Oh, these are my favorite…after my dress." Ginny said. She held out a sketch of a pretty strapless dress. "It's a knee length empire waist dress with striped chiffon ruching at the bust. I chose rose and ivory for the colors."

"I have no idea what that means but it's pretty." I said. Ginny laughed and took out the sketch of her own wedding dress. Now this was definitely something.

"I've been thinking about this dress since forever." Ginny said, beaming. "It's a mermaid gown made of silk wool, with silk gazar metallic embroidery, a scoop back and a long train."

"Look at you with all of your designer talk." I said, laughing. Ginny smiled.

"Well, you pick up a thing or two by reading a of couple books." Ginny shrugged modestly. I saw her smile though. "Oh and mum said she has no problem watching the girls during the wedding." Ginny informed me.

"How's that going to work with babies?" I questioned.

"Well, the night before we're doing a his and her bachelor party." Ginny informed me. "All my brothers and their wives will be there along with some friends but mum said she'll watch all the children here with dad. And then during the ceremony we've got someone to look after the children and keep them entertained. Everyone's pretty much going to be out of the reception by nine but we've got this suite at the hotel and the party will continue on there. Mum's going to watch Lily and Willa."

"You've really thought about this." I said, looking over the page labeled _Baby Watch_.

"Everything." Ginny assured me.

Ginny had every aspect of this wedding in the binder. She wanted to share this with me since I was her matron of honor. I took her color themes into account as I began mentally planning her bridal shower.

A little while later there was a knock on the door of the designing room. Ginny hastily began putting the wedding plans away.

"Come in." She finally called. The door opened and Harry and Ron came in, holding their daughters who were now awake and making sounds.

"What's going on?" Ron asked. He fell into a comfortable chair by the bookshelves. Willa held onto his nose.

"Wedding talk." Ginny said. She shoved her wedding binder away.

"Sorry to interrupt." Ron said, yawning. "We played three games of chess that even though exhausted, I still won."

"Yeah, well…" Harry started but he couldn't finish. Ron, Ginny, and I laughed. Harry frowned at us and Lily smiled at her father.

"Well I guess I'll make some lunch." Ginny said, standing up.

"You cook?" Ron and I asked at the same time. Harry laughed.

"By 'make some lunch' she means going to get a menu from a restaurant and ordering in." He said. "She gave up on cooking a while ago."

Ginny shrugged innocently. "Cooking is not one of my strong points." She kissed Lily's head and left the room. Harry sat in her abandoned seat with Lily in his arms.

"She's excited about the wedding." Harry said, smiling after his fiancée. "And to be honest, after two years, I'm ready for a wedding too." He smiled at Lily.

"You know what?" Ron asked. "Me too!" Harry and I laughed while Ron explained himself. "This has gone on too long with all the waiting. I was promised I was going to be the best man and I haven't been yet."

"Don't worry, come July you'll be standing next to me while I marry your sister." Harry assured him. He looked like he was waiting for a reaction from Ron. "What, no 'if you hurt her' speeches?" Harry chuckled. Ron shook his head with a laugh.

"After everything that's happened, there really isn't a need for it." Ron gestured to Lily. "You're good for Ginny and a great dad to my niece. I think we've gone way past the point of those comments."

"Good." Harry said. He kissed Lily's cheek and she smiled at her father. The smile on his face let me know how happy he was.

x

A week after Ron's birthday he made a promise to cook dinner for me this time and I had no plans after my one morning class except for Willa and I to spend the rest of the day together and take a walk to the beach.

Class ended and everyone got up to leave. I waved to Graye before walking up to Professor Lennon's desk.

"Have you gotten a chance to read my paper?" I inquired.

"Yes, I have Mrs. Weasley." Her expression was unreadable. She opened a briefcase and pulled out my paper. She seemed to want to torture me for a minute because she didn't show me my grade. "I was surprised at first that you stuck with Thestrals." She said.

"I really do know a lot about them." I assured her. "I've ridden them before…even though I can't see them." She looked amused at my comment.

"I read that." She said. She slowly began handing me my paper. "And I was impressed with the entire thing. I enjoyed that you turned it into a story." The paper finally reached my hands and I saw the giant red 'O' at the top of the paper. A smile worked its way onto my face. An 'O' was better than I thought I did. "Well done." She said. I thanked her and turned to go, holding my grade.

This was happiness: achieving the perfect grade after working hard for it and loving it.

Smiling, I turned to leave so I could pick up my daughter and spend the day with her.

I changed my mind. No one can honestly say they're perfectly, one hundred percent happy…all the time. But I've learned that if you live in the moment, there are times when you can be one hundred and ten percent happy and your life can be perfect.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!! **


	7. Negatives and Positives

**a/n: Hi...again and the next day too! I got enough reviews so I'm updating!!! I have eight and nine complete as well and I'm working on ten. Harry and Ginny's wedding will not be until chapter twelve and chapter twelve will be the only chapter about it. I've got them all planned up until chapter twenty-seven (I've still got more planning to do. I think forty or fifty chapters all together) and I've realized that this story doesn't have much of a plot. It's just like a story of their lives. Each chapter has it's own drama but there's nothing that stretches through the entire story...just thought that I'd share this with you. :)**

**Ok, I want to thank Anna again for reading this chapter over and now on with the chapter!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Nothing in life is so hard that you can't make it easier by the way you take it. –Ellen Glasgow_

_Life is not waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain_

The way you handle situations in life affects the outcome of the situation. I've learned that no matter what the situation, as long as you have a positive attitude, the situation will be easier to deal with. This goes for situations like being a young mother and wife, trying to go to school as well as simple things like turning a rainy day into an ok experience.

It all depends on your perspective in the situation. I know when I deal with situations like this I try and be strong with a positive attitude. After all, I have an example to set for my daughter.

Thunder cracked outside and a bolt of lightning worked its way across the evening sky.

"Shh, baby. It's ok. Just some bad noise." Willa's crying didn't stop. She continued to scream while I attempted to search through a book for a spell to get rid of the thunder sounds. "Are you serious?" I asked aloud in frustration at the book.

_See book two of _Household Spells and Jinxes _for more on how to deal with thunderstorms. _

In my anger I slammed the book shut. Willa cried harder.

"I'm sorry, girly." I hurried to pick her up from her crib. All I was able to do about the oncoming storm was make the windows rain resistant and that didn't help. There was another bang of thunder and flash of light. Willa screamed even harder. "Ok, ok. We'll figure this out." I assured her. I wrapped her in a blanket and brought her down stairs with me. "Shhh." I said, bouncing her a little. Her crying abated for a moment until it thundered again.

It was Friday night and tomorrow would be officially six months since Willa was born. We were celebrating by having her godparents over. Ron left ten minutes ago to bring Lily back while Harry and Ginny would be Flooing. A storm was coming. It started thundering and lighting already and the rain was on the way.

"Ok, you sit here and Mama will get you something to drink." I said to her. She screamed while I placed her in her highchair. I put the tray on and tried to think of what to do next.

_Midnight_.

I went to the back door and pulled it open, waiting for Midnight to dash in as usual. She hadn't come in as much lately but now that there was a storm I wanted her back inside. When she didn't come I stepped outside and called her name.

"Midnight!" I shouted as the wind nearly knocked me over. Another crack of thunder hit and I could hear Willa screaming from inside. "Midnight!" I shouted again but the only thing that was alive outside was a scrawny brown stray cat looking around for shelter. Willa's crying inside was calling me and I could stand here no longer.

I walked back inside, looking over my shoulder once more. She didn't come. I turned my attention to Willa who was still upset. She was still screaming. Not knowing what else to do I picked her up and tried to rock her while the thunder scared her again. Upstairs, I heard noise.

"Damn it Ginny, why did you need all this stuff for one night?" Ron questioned angrily.

"Ronald!" I protested as I heard the sound of their footsteps on the stairs.

"Sorry." Ron said. "Gosh darn it Ginny, why do you need all this stuff for one night?"

"Thank you!" I said as Ron made it to the bottom of the stairs carrying one large suitcase and another suitcase the same design in smaller size. Harry and Ginny trailed after him with Lily in tow. Thunder cracked loudly overhead followed by a flash of light and Lily was screaming too. "Here." I handed Willa to an unsuspecting Harry and then gave Ginny a book.

"Try and find something so that we can't hear the thunder in here." I instructed them. "Ron, Midnight's not back. We have to go find her." I began buttoning up my gray sweater. I went over to the coat closet where I pulled out a pair of sneakers.

"She isn't back?" Ron asked.

"No." I answered. "And I'm worried."

"Ok." He said to me. He turned to Harry and Ginny. "We'll be back as soon as we find Midnight." He said to them, over the sound of crying babies.

"We'll be here." Harry said, trying to comfort Willa. Ron led me outside through the sliding door. We began searching for her everywhere. We had our wands out to find her better in the increasing darkness but the only cat we came across was that damn brown stray that nearly scratched me. We even walked down to the pool, in fear that she may have gotten stuck in the water.

Ron cursed loudly as the sky opened and water poured on us. The thunder struck again and lightning followed.

"Come on, 'Mione we'll find her when the storm's over!" Ron said. He grabbed my hand but I wasn't moving.

"Ron we have to find her!" I protested. Tears fell down my cheeks, mixing with the rain that was drenching me.

"We can't find her in the rain!" Ron said. "Come on before you get sick!" He pulled me back towards our house despite my protests. We stopped just outside the house when Ron noticed I was still crying. "We'll find her." Ron assured me, pulling me close to him. "Just not now." I nodded against his chest and heard Ginny.

"Come on, you'll get sick!" She yelled. The two of us entered, soaking wet and dripping on the carpet.

"Did you find her?" Harry asked. I shook my head with tears still pouring down my cheeks.

"Hermione, we'll find her. I promise." Ron said.

"I know." I nodded. "I'm just worried."

Ron and I went upstairs to change. I changed from my sopping wet clothes into a pair of black yoga pants and a white tank top while Ron wore a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a gray t-shirt.

We went back downstairs with Harry and Ginny. Willa and Lily were lying on Willa's play mat, squirming around and playing with all the toys.

"I got the spell so we can't hear the thunder in here." Harry said. "But it's only working in the living room."

"Where was the spell?" I questioned.

"It wasn't in the book you gave me. It was in Tonks' book." Harry responded. I nodded but at that moment a flash of lightning occurred and the lights went out.

Damn storm interfered with the magic that kept our lights on!

"Frick!" I exclaimed. (Ron and I had been trying not to swear around Willa anymore. Frick, gosh darn it, and heck were our choice words.) Willa and Lily began crying again once the lights went out. Ron and Harry were quick to pick the babies up. I bit my lip and refrained from crying myself.

Ok, we were stuck in the house, Midnight was stuck outside of the house, it was storming awfully outside, and we had no lights…somewhere in this there had to be a positive.

"Candles." I whispered to myself. "Candles!" I repeated again louder. I started running around the living room, bumping into things and gathering candles. "Ha!" I announced when the living room was illuminated by the candles. I smiled at Ron, Willa, Harry, Ginny, and Lily. "We have light!"

"Brilliant, you can work a lighter." Harry joked. He laid Lily on the floor next to Willa.

"I'm sorry you guys came during this awful storm but we can turn this whole thing around with positive attitudes." I said. "Eh, hem…Harry!" Ron and Ginny laughed.

"Remember that summer before your last year at Hogwarts?" Ginny asked looking lost in thought. "We got stuck in your house because the weather was awful."

"Oh and we ate all that junk food." I clutched my stomach remembering the awful sugary, salty, unhealthy things I used to eat.

"The good old days." Ron sighed. "You know, before marriage and organic foods." Harry laughed while I chucked a pillow at Ron's head. "Real mature, Mum!" Ron exclaimed but just then he grabbed me around the waist and tackled me to the couch, tickling me.

"Oh – and – this – is – more – mature?" I asked in between giggles. "Dad!" I added.

"Think about it, that's going to be Lily and Willa in seventeen years. They'll be making their own summer memories." Ginny said, smiling wistfully. Ron stopped tickling me.

"No!" He said, forcefully. "Do you remember what happened that summer?" He looked at Ginny with a very serious expression on his face.

"Yeah, a lot of stuff. We had fun." Ginny said. She casually crossed one leg over the other.

"As I recall it, no matter where I turned I found you two snogging the _heck_ out of each other and Hermione and I weren't much better either. Willa will never, _ever_ have a summer like that and I don't want my goddaughter sleeping in the same house with boys either!" Ron protested.

"Yeah!" Harry piped in. "Lily's not leaving the house after she hits puberty."

"Sorry, what?" Ginny asked while I sat watching amusedly.

"Sorry, I haven't told you yet." Harry said. "She'll either stop growing after ten or we will have to have her home schooled." Ginny laughed and patted Harry's knee.

"You've got a couple years before you've got to worry about that." Ginny assured him. "Don't think too much on it. It'll be better as a surprise."

I laughed and went to the kitchen to find something that didn't need cooking. I'd rather not mess with the storm and it's interference with the magic. Without opening the fridge, I was able to find some assorted fruits, crackers, pretzels and peanut butter for us to munch on. Water would be the only drink we could have since I couldn't get into the fridge.

Willa and Lily nodded off to sleep a little later. Since the living room was the only place protected against the thunder sounds, they slept in the playpen in the middle of the living room. Ginny and Harry had changed from their fancy clothes and were now in sweats like Ron and me. Harry sat on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table. Ginny lay with her head on his lap. Ron sat in the chair and I sat on the floor with my back against his legs.

"So Susan had her baby." Ginny informed us. "Elijah Zacharis Smith."

"Elijah's a cute name." I said.

"Yeah." Ginny agreed. "I saw a picture, the baby's pretty cute too. He's got Susan's eyes."

"Aw." I said. "And what about Lavender and Parvati. Either of them push a baby out recently?"

"No, but they're as big as houses." Ginny said. I laughed while Ron and Harry rolled their eyes. They weren't into the gossip.

"Hey Ron, did you hear about so and so who did this with so and so?" Harry asked, mocking Ginny's gossip telling voice.

"No way!" Ron said; his eyes got wide. "I can't believe so and so did that." I hit Ron in the leg but laughed anyways.

"I miss this." I said, suddenly.

"Yeah, I always love when Harry and Ron are being –" Ginny started. I shot her a look even though Willa and Lily were sleeping. "Jerks." She finished. "Damn, I am never going to get used to that. My daughter's going to have the worst mouth ever." I laughed.

"Look at Ron here, he's getting the hang of it. And if _that_ can happen, you can stop saying those words." I assured Ginny.

"Hey!" Ron protested. "It wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, ok." Harry said, sarcastically while Ginny and I laughed.

As I laughed I realized how much fun this was. It had been so long since we were able to just sit and joke around. When the real world came, along with all of our responsibilities we stopped doing this as much. Now we had children and it was even more difficult to get around to making time for this. It was nice when it happened, though.

"What do you think Hermione? Ron had the worst mouth ever, right?" Ginny asked, interrupting my thoughts. I turned and looked up at Ron who looked as if he thought I was going to defend him.

"I don't know." I responded. "I have to think back. You know to the days before marriage and organic food." Ron, Harry, Ginny, and I laughed as quietly as possible to keep from waking the girls up.

It wasn't long though before our talking got later and the girls woke up, in need of feeding. Ginny and I fed them and then brought them back to the living room with us. I sat back on the floor with Willa in my arms and Ginny sat cross-legged on the couch with Lily in her lap.

"Dayaahyalaaya." Willa said.

"Look at that." Ron said proudly. "She's so close to saying 'dada'."

"It's incredible." I agreed. "It seems like only yesterday I was holding her for the first time." I looked at my daughter tearfully.

"You can always have more." Ginny suggested. I laughed.

"Sorry, I love Willa and for now – and for a couple years in the future – she will remain my only child." I said.

"Yeah." Ron agreed, nodding his head forcefully. "One baby is enough." He narrowed his eyes at Harry and Ginny. "You aren't having another, are you?"

"Yes." Harry said. My heart momentarily stopped in surprise and I saw Ron's face go white. Harry and Ginny laughed when they saw our surprised reactions.

"We're joking." Ginny said, laughing. Lily laughed when she saw her mother laughing.

"But it isn't completely out of the question to have more children." Harry added. "We want Lily to have a big family." Ron and I let out nervous laughs while lightning flashed outside.

"Do you think Midnight's ok?" I asked, looking outside and held Willa to me.

"She was probably just hiding from the storm and that's why we couldn't find her." Ron said. He put a comforting hand on my shoulder. Willa seemed to sense something was wrong because she smiled at me and made a noise that made us all laugh.

"I love you little girl." I said, kissing her forehead. She smiled at me and as lightning flashed again, she moved closer to me.

"I'm bored." Harry said. He looked at his watch. "And I'm not even tired."

"Chess?" Ron asked.

"No." Harry answered. "Got any other games?" Ron looked at me.

"They're on a shelf in the garage." I informed him. Ron got up and walked through the kitchen and into the garage.

"We've got Clue, Monopoly, Sorry, and – Hermione come quick!" Ron said in alarm. "Quick!" He repeated. I handed Willa to Harry again and hurried to the garage where Ron was. The games probably fell on him or something.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I found Ron kneeling on the ground looking at something in a corner. Thunder banged loudly outside. I walked toward him and looked over his shoulder. In a spare tire resting on the floor was an old blanket. Midnight rested on top of the blanket and five little kittens were curled up next to her. "Oh!" I almost cried when I saw it.

"That's what she's been doing out here." Ron explained. "Every time I come home from work, she's out here."

"That's where she's been?" I asked. I looked at the five little kittens. One was gray and black, one was orange, one was brown, one was black with some white, and the last one was white. They weren't newborns but they weren't that big yet either.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked. She joined us out in the cold garage. "Awwww." She said when she saw the kittens.

Harry came out into the garage, holding a baby in each arm.

"What's going on?" He asked as I lifted Willa from his arms and brought her down to look at the kittens. "More cats?!"

"Look baby, Midnight had kittens." I said to her. "And she's ok. She wasn't stuck in the storm." Willa pointed to the gray and black kitten as it lifted its head and looked at Willa. Willa giggled.

"But how?" Harry asked in astonishment.

"Well you see Harry, when a mummy cat and a daddy cat love each other very much they–" Ginny started. Ron and I laughed causing Willa and Lily to giggle. Ron reached his arm out to touch the kitten that Willa was fond of but Midnight hissed at him.

"Never mess with a mother and her babies." I told Ron. "That's grounds for being scratched."

"Right." Ron said, backing off.

"Come on, let's give her some peace. We'll figure it out in the morning." I said, tugging on Ron's arm. Willa pointed at the kittens again.

"Yes, that's right. There are kittens here now…five of them." Ron said. He looked momentarily worried as we walked back into the house.

"We'll find good homes for them." I assured him. As much as I loved animals and cats especially, I knew that by the time they grew up, having six cats around would not be a good idea.

We went back to the living room where Harry sat on the couch with Lily nodding off on his shoulder. Ron sat down in his chair with Willa and began to rock her to sleep.

"Harry, wouldn't it be great for Lily to have a kitten?" Ginny asked, falling into a seat next to her husband and daughter.

"Not really." Harry said. I smiled and walked over to the back door where I could see the rain pour on to the ground and lightning flash in the sky.

The idea that positive attitudes help in tough situations is what gets me through life.

Dealing with the responsibility of being a young mother, wife, student…

Being stuck inside during an awful thunderstorm…

…two totally different situations that have one similar quality: I learned to turn it all around for each. Both situations had a negative and a positive. I could have chosen to go live with my mother-in-law and receive help but be miserable because I wasn't doing this on my own. I also could have chosen to mope around while it rained and poured instead of enjoying the time I had to spend with Harry, Ginny, and Lily.

In the end it really determines the type of life you have…whether you can deal with things positively and make things easier or if you have a negative attitude and make things more difficult. This is a lesson I plan on teaching my daughter as she grows older.

REVIEW PLEASE!!! If I get enough reviews I'll update tomorrow!!


	8. Overwhelmed

**a/n: Sorry I didn't update yesterday! But I'm updating now so here's chapter eight!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it. -Eileen Caddy_

School has always been important to me so I make it a point to try hard to succeed. Of course exams and paper deadlines aren't easily met when you have a family at home to take care of.

So I do it all. I go to class; take care of my baby and give her all the attention she needs; I make dinner for my family; I make sure my husband gets his attention; and I finish my schoolwork in an effort to meet my deadlines. Especially with exams coming up, my agenda has kept me up at all hours of the night, in order to keep up with school and my family.

It has definitely got to the point where I can genuinely say that I'm overworked…

The week of finals was incredibly hectic. By the time it was Wednesday and I had three, incredibly hard, incredibly long finals the next day. It was a wonder I had managed to complete the first five finals and achieve passing grades.

Wednesday after my fifth final I stumbled into the house carrying Willa's car seat and trying to balance all of my books with my wand. They managed to make it inside before they fell onto the kitchen floor with a bang. I placed Willa's car seat on the floor and took out a pen to cross Wednesday off my finals schedule that was hanging on the fridge. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were complete. One more day and three finals to go…

I left Willa's car seat for a moment to pick up the books that fell. When I was no longer in her line of view, she began screaming her tiny lungs out. She was at this _wonderful_ stage where she screamed bloody murder when she could no longer see me.

"Mama's here baby." I said as I struggled with the heavy stack of books that I needed to use for studying. Finally I had the books together and moved to pick her up. She smiled when she saw me. "Ok, we're going to go see the kitties and then mama has to study." I lifted Willa up and brought her back in the garage.

Instead of moving them, we put a small fence around them so Midnight and her kittens would have her privacy. We found good homes for each of them. Once they got big enough, the black and white one was going to Becki, Paul, and Anna; the orange one was going to Sasha and Trey; the brown one was going to Graye and Nick, the white one was going to Neville, Luna, and Phinny (when he's born of course); and finally the gray and black one was going to Willa. Her name was Mimi (my choice, I figured it would be easier for her to say once she could speak). Willa was very fond of the kitten and vice versa.

"Look, baby its Mimi." I said, pointing to the cat. "It's your kitty." Willa smiled at the kitten and reached her hand out. Mimi looked up when she saw Willa. She stretched out and Willa giggled. I smiled as I watched the interaction but knew that I had studying to do. "Ok, come on." I brought Willa back inside where I attempted to hold her and get my books from the kitchen counter to the coffee table. They fell in a heap on the table, knocking into the vase that held flowers Ron brought home for me.

"Frick! Frick! Frick!" I exclaimed. Willa laughed. "This is so not funny." I assured her. I got the mess cleaned up with my wand and then placed Willa on her play mat in the middle of the floor. She cried when I went to sit down and study.

I picked her up and brought her to the couch with me. "Fine, we'll study together." I told her, settling Willa and myself on the couch with a book. "But we have to study hard because mama needs a good grade on this."

"Ohyaehaa." Willa said as she reached for the page.

"No, no baby." I took her hands away and turned her around so she wasn't playing with the book. "Ow!" She yanked on my hair. "Come on baby, please be good for mama." I turned her back around and held the book further out. It was hard to read this way but at least she wasn't interrupting me.

I repeated facts out loud and that helped slightly. As I was working my way through the important times in history and attempting to take notes, my cell phone rang. Willa who had been incredibly close to sleep was now wide-awake, watching curiously as I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I put Willa into a sitting position on the couch. Since she could still see me, she didn't cry.

"Hello my love." Ron said from the other line. "How did your finals go today?"

"Well, after staying up until three a.m. and having to get up at six I managed a pretty good grade and a nap as soon as I was done. Of course that didn't go over too well with the professor." I replied. It was the truth. Willa lifted her arms, indicating that she wanted me to hold her.

"Ah! Ah!" She said, which was her way of saying, "Up mama! Up!" I lifted her up and attempted to balance the phone and my baby.

"You work too hard." Ron said from the phone.

"Yes, well there's only one way to pass the classes and that's to study until three in the morning and then feed your daughter before falling into bed too tired to even get over the covers." I said. Ron chuckled as I nearly dropped the phone.

"Well, it's almost over and then you can relax." Ron said.

"Right, relax." I almost laughed. Like school was my only stressful worry.

"Well, I'll be home at six. Do you think you can take a break and we can have dinner together? I'll bore you with the details of my day." Ron said. I laughed again and knew I couldn't say no.

"Yeah, that'll be fine. I'll make eggplant." I said.

"Oh goody." Ron said, sarcastically.

"You didn't let me finish." I protested.

"Sorry, go on." Ron said.

"And chicken for you." I finished.

"Sounds wonderful, love. Tell Willa I love her and I'll see you two at six." Ron said.

"Love you too. Bye." I hung up the phone and Willa reached for it. Since it kept her quiet I handed her the phone and put her back down. This kept her entertained for all of five minutes and then it was my job again.

Luckily she nodded off and I was able to put her in her playpen and get some studying in while she slept.

I managed to make a set of note cards with important dates on them and then another set for my French final before Willa woke up, hungry. It was more difficult to work with a now awake and more energetic than ever Willa. This time I laid on the floor with her and attempted to read through the chapter reviews while she shook a rattle in my ear and tried to get my attention.

"I'm sorry baby but mummy needs to study. I promise that as soon as I'm done with my finals we will play all the time, but I have to get a good grade." My attempts to dissuade Willa from shaking her rattle at me only made her squirm over next to me and whack her rattle at my book.

As the time grew later I now had three tasks to complete: dinner making, baby entertaining, and studying. I placed Willa in her highchair with a few toys. This kept her busy while I got the basic things out that I needed for cooking. Once she had either thrown the toys from the tray or they fell off she wanted to get out.

"Ah! Ah!" she said lifting her arms up to let me know that she no longer wanted to sit there.

"No baby, I have to make dinner for daddy." I said. My book was open on the counter and the marinade for the chicken splashed onto it. "Frick!" I exclaimed. Willa was amused by what was happening…oh if she only knew how stressed I actually was.

"Aieyayaahlaamaaayaada." Willa decided to talk to me since I wasn't going to pick her up. She talked to me and I responded to her while I made dinner and studied.

As I ducked to check on the eggplant in the oven Willa began screaming.

"I'm coming baby, I'm coming." I said. I let the oven door slam and I ran around the counter to pick her up out of her highchair. In the process I banged my hip on the counter. "Gosh darn it!" I exclaimed, wishing so much that I could just say "Goddamn it!" I never really realized how much those angry words helped make it feel better. I picked Willa up and her screaming ceased.

Just as I was walking back around the counter with Willa in my arms the top of the oven erupted in flames and my French note cards were burning along with it. My eyes stung with tears from the pain in my hip as I took out my wand.

"_Aguamenti_!" I shouted and nothing happened except the fire began burning the food on top of the oven as well as the note cards. The door to the garage open and Ron walked in with a smile on his face that fell as soon as he saw the fire. On instinct Ron took out his wand and said the spell. It worked for him.

Gray smoke billowed from the oven as I went to open the doors to the backyard. As soon as that was done I fell on the couch in tears. Ron was at my side. He lifted Willa from my arms and put one of his arms around me while I sobbed into his shoulder. My hip was in pain, I nearly burnt the house down, my French note cards were burnt, dinner was burnt and I couldn't take it anymore.

"It's all right." Ron said, rubbing my back.

"No, it's not!" I sobbed. "There's too much going on! I have to devote one hundred percent of my energy to Willa and then one hundred percent to my finals and then I've got to cook dinner! It's not working anymore, Ron."

"Hermione, you're overwhelmed." Ron said. "And I'm sorry I let it get like this." He kissed my forehead. "I know you've got school and right now that's the most important thing for you."

"But Willa's important too." I wiped away tears but a fresh batch replaced them.

"Listen," Ron said, "I'm going to take Willa to the ShoreHouse and I want you to stay here and study." He kissed me again. "I clean up this mess and then you'll have the whole house to yourself. Tomorrow after your last final we're going to work out a plan for next semester so this doesn't happen again." He pulled me in for a hug. "'Mione, I'm sorry."

"Me too." I said. I rested my head against his shoulder. "I tried to be the best mother, wife, and student but didn't think to ask for help when it got too crazy."

"Don't ever think you can't ask for help." Ron said. He smiled at me and I felt like the luckiest woman in the world to have him here to help me. He kissed me once more and stood up with his wand out.

The mess was cleaned up easily and Willa looked thrilled to have attention from her daddy.

"We'll be back in a couple hours." Ron said. "Don't worry about anything else but studying."

"Thanks." I hugged him and he left with Willa. I watched them pull out of the garage and then I went back to the living room where my books were waiting for me. I levitated them all upstairs where I dropped them on my bed in a heap. I changed into a pair of blue sweatpants and a white tank top before crashing on my comfortable bed and beginning to study.

I got pages of notes filled in, tons of note cards to study from, and memorized all the important dates in history. By the time Ron and Willa got home I felt ready for my three finals the next day.

"Hey." Ron said, carrying a tired Willa into the room. "Willa's going to say goodnight before I put her to bed."

"I can take care of that." I stood up and lifted Willa from Ron's arms. "Hey girly."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked. I nodded.

"I just need a few minute break. I'll put her down." I said. Ron kissed Willa's forehead and Willa and I left the room. It took me several minutes to get her ready for bed and then a few to wait while she fell asleep. Finally I returned to the bedroom where Ron was looking over my notes.

"I was thinking." Ron said, placing my notes down. "What if I take Friday off and we just have a long weekend, the three of us?"

"Why?" I questioned. I fell onto the bed and he wrapped his arms around me.

"Well, all work and no play isn't good as you proved earlier. I think we should take a break this weekend. 'Mione if you work too hard it has negative effects." Ron said. I laughed and turned around to kiss him.

"Ok!" I agreed happily. Ron leaned in to kiss my and my arms encircled his neck. After a moment, things got too heated and we both pulled away. "Study." I said, breathlessly.

"Yeah." Ron scratched his head. "I'm going to go study." He looked confused for a moment. "I mean…TV." I offered him a smile before he walked out of the room.

x

"I passed! I passed!" I ran into the house yelling happily. I found Ron and Willa in the backyard. Ron was reading to Willa. Ron stood up and came over. I jumped into his arms. "I passed all three exams!" I shouted.

"That's great!" Ron said. He spun me around.

"Ah! Ah!" Willa called from her chair. I went and lifted her up.

"Yes, that's right baby. Mama promised she would play with you once she finished her exams!" Willa giggled happily when I kissed her nose. "What should we do?" I asked Ron. "Beach? Pool? Heck, let's take a trip somewhere!" Ron laughed at my excited mood.

"Disneyland!" He announced with a cheerful smile on his face.

"Ok!" I agreed, feeling giddy and excited. I had just finished all my exams and I could take a break! "Oh, Ron we have to get a picture of Willa with Mickey Mouse!" I said. "And Snow White…oh and Cinderella!" Ron laughed as I went on about everything we had to do. "And we have to get her one of those Mickey Mouse hats with her name on it." I decided.

"Ok." Ron said as he listened. We walked inside discussing our plans for the next day while Willa excitedly smiled, knowing there was something going on.

The next day we hit the road pretty early. Willa was napping in the back seat while we drove the forty-five minutes to Anaheim, California. I was excited about this and had the camera with me to take tons of pictures of Willa enjoying herself. Ron was excited too. He couldn't wait to take Willa on small rides and buy her Disney stuffed animals.

Our trip to Disney was quite the event. Willa got excited when she saw all the bustle and excitement but she wasn't too fond of the big scary mouse. She did take a picture with Snow White and I and Cinderella but I think the people in the animal costumes scared her a little. Ron took her on every ride meant for little children. The Alice and Wonderland ride, which Ron said she enjoyed very much; Peter Pan's flight where Ron pointed that we were sailing over London to her; Dumbo the Flying Elephant where she giggled happily; the King Arthur Carousel where I got pictures of her enjoying herself; and we went on the Storybook Land Canal Boats.

In the afternoon when Willa nodded off in the baby carrier, Ron and I walked around and shopped for everyone who was coming up to visit next week.

We got t-shirts and Mickey, Goofy, and Donald Duck stuffed animals for Lex, Max, and Greg and we got Minnie Mouse dresses and stuffed animals of Ariel, Cinderella, and Belle for Lily, Cecilia, and Penny. We also got a Snow White one for Willa as well as her Mickey Mouse ears and several Disney t-shirts. For the adults we purchased t-shirts and interesting character hats that they would surely find funny.

By the time Willa woke up, we had bags and bags of things for our family and a lot of time to spend in Disney.

"This is so much fun!" Ron declared. "I say we skip our responsibilities every Friday and come here." He joked. I laughed and we walked through Fantasyland with Willa watching the place and people around her in amusement. She was now wearing a purple shirt with a picture of Tinkerbell on it over her skirt. I had on the same one in a adult size with my denim capris and Ron had on a white Mickey Mouse t-shirt with his jean shorts.

"It is fun. Thank you for making me relax for a day." I said.

"Anytime my love." Ron said; he leaned down to kiss me. Willa pursed her lips together as if she wanted a kiss too.

"And one for you too little girl." I said, kissing her cheek and letting her kiss mine. She smiled and Ron led the way to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh ride.

We watched the parade after riding a few more rides and then when it began to get dark, we got ready to watch the fireworks.

The loud bang that scared Willa at first actually interested her when the kaleidoscope of colors illuminated the sky.

"Ahyalaya!" Willa said excitedly, in my arms as she watched the fireworks explode. Ron smiled at me while Willa watched, transfixed with the sky. I smiled back at Ron as he put an arm around me and we turned our attention to the fireworks.

Willa slept during the ride home. It was past her bedtime but we figured that today was a special occasion so it was ok.

I stretched out in my seat and rested my head back, turning and smiling at Ron.

"I had a lot of fun today." I said to him. "Thanks." Ron smiled back at me momentarily before turning his focus back to the road. I turned back to take a peek at Willa sleeping. Her stuffed doll of Snow White lay next to her in her car seat. I smiled and lay back in my own seat, shutting my eyes.

I awoke when we arrive home and brought Willa inside while Ron struggled with the bags.

"Put them by the coffee table. I want to sort though them and wrap them with the Mickey Mouse wrapping paper." I instructed Ron. I placed Willa on her play mat in the middle of the floor and left her toys down near her.

"I don't think that falls under the category of relaxing." Ron said, dropping the bags of gifts on the floor. "Save it for tomorrow." He yawned and fell onto the couch. I sat next to him and rested my head against his shoulder.

"Ok." I agreed. To be honest I wasn't too keen on giving up this relaxed blissful feeling. We both watched Willa as she discarded her new toys, looking for her usual rattle. Seeing it was out of reach, she began to pull herself along on her belly to grab it. When this wasn't fast enough for her, she pulled herself up on her knees and began crawling after it. Ron and I jumped up with smiles on our happy faces.

"She crawled!" Ron announced the obvious.

"She did." I said, beaming from ear to ear. Ron and I got down on all fours next to her and watched as she reached her rattle and moved herself into a sitting position. When she saw us next to her, smiling at her she smiled happily and shook her rattle at us. "Look at my big girl. You're crawling now!" I said. I kissed her forehead and she giggled. My baby was crawling! She was right on schedule with everything! All of the books said that magic babies developed slightly faster than muggle babies but Willa was reaching each milestone in her development as early as possible. She was brilliant!

"Wil, you're growing up too fast." Ron said. "Soon you're going to be walking!"

"Eiahlladaayaa." Willa said. Ron and I smiled and waited for her to crawl again but for now she was perfectly content with sitting there shaking her rattle.

There's nothing like taking a relaxing day with your family and then watching your daughter crawl for the first time to end the perfect relaxing day. As important as school is to me, I've found that if I don't take the time to relax or allow someone to help me that it can be overwhelming.

School, being a mother, and a wife are all difficult tasks when put together and once in a while I've got to take a step back and refrain from overworking myself. For now I've got the whole summer to relax with my daughter and husband. Perhaps we'd even go back to Disneyland again…

**REVIEW PLEASE!!! If I get enough reviews I'll update again tomorrow. Friday I'm going camping so I won't be able to update for the entire weekend but I'd like to put nine up before I leave so please review!!!!**

**-Kylie**


	9. Mother's Day

**a/n: Ok so this will be the only update until next week! I hope you enjoy this one!!! **

**Always,  
Kylie**

_The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.__ -Rajneesh_

The day Willa came into the world I felt something that I never felt before. I loved that little girl more than I ever thought possible. In the past months since she was born, I watched her grow and develop. My heart broke when she cried and I felt incredibly, unexplainably happy when she smiled at me. I learned what being a mother was all about.

Mother's Day was never a holiday that stuck out in my mind. There was always the handmade card and some interesting gift that I sent mum but that was it for Mother's Day…until Willa was born. Now, this sounds silly to say, but I think I understand Mother's Day better. I was excited to share this day with my daughter and celebrate the fact that I was a mother.

Our family was scheduled to come visit the Thursday before Mother's Day and leave the Monday after. Since twenty-two people would be difficult to squeeze into our home, they were staying at _Oceanside Hotel,_ which was a mere five-minute walk from our home…of course Ron would probably end up driving them but it wasn't a big deal. We were excited for everyone to come and see where we lived and why we loved it.

Currently I was preparing for their visit. Ron was helping…until I yelled at him and told him I would take care of it. He was now on the floor, playing with Willa. It was quite funny to watch. Ron was crawling around on the floor acting like a Hippogriff and Willa was crawling after him, giggling while Mimi trailed behind (Midnight was resting on the couch watching). Willa, Ron, and I were already dressed in our bathing suits. Willa had on a small blue on piece with polka dots and a white sundress over it and a white floppy hat. Ron was wearing a pair of blue swim trunks and a white t-shirt. I had on a two-piece that matched Willa's one piece with a jean skirt over it. As soon as our family got here we were going to walk down to the pool to swim.

Ron made a noise that caused Willa to giggle heartily.

"Wow, Ron, what a step up from how you usually behave." We turned around to see George leading a three month pregnant Alicia, a laughing Fred, and a smiling Angelina down the stairs. The four were already dressed in their bathing suits as well. I checked my watch to see that they were ten minutes early for Flooing. Ron sat up and lifted Willa up.

"Oh shut up and say hello to your niece." Ron said.

"Aieiolaaaeiahh!" Willa said, excitedly when she saw her uncles and aunts.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked.

"What, we aren't good enough?" Fred asked, taking Willa from Ron's arms.

"Fred and George wanted to come early." Angelina explained.

"Because we wanted to see Ron's performance." George said. Ron frowned at them.

"Fine, you're not getting your gifts then!" Ron protested. Fred and George laughed making Willa laugh while I helped Angelina and Alicia get their bags down the stairs.

"How are you?" I asked Alicia. She looked bigger than normal for three months.

"Fine." Alicia said, rubbing her stomach. "All three of us actually."

"Three?" I asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Alicia said. She was smiling. "Well we think anyways. George and I checked up on it and I've got all the signs. We have a Healer's appointment on Tuesday to find out." The fact that she was smiling let me know that they were happy with this new development.

"Congratulations!" I hugged Alicia.

"George wants to name them Fred and George Number Two." Alicia said with a laugh.

"And if they're girls?" I asked.

"Frieda and Georgie." Alicia answered.

"I didn't even need to ask." I said. Alicia, Angelina, and I laughed.

When ten minutes passed we all went up to the fireplace in the bedroom where we awaited the arrival of the family. Bill and Lex came through first. As we were welcoming them Fleur and Cecilia joined us followed by, Penelope and Greg, Percy, Alison and Max, Charlie, Lupin and Penny, Molly, Arthur, Ginny, Harry and finally Tonks Apparated with Lily.

"Let's go swimming!" Fred exclaimed through all the chaos.

Before we could go swimming everyone had to be checked into their hotel room. Ron took all of the guys to go check in and bring the luggage. The rest of us girls (and Lex, Max, and Greg) stayed to get ready for swimming. The three boys were running around the living room while their mothers attempted to get their bathing suits on; Ginny was upstairs feeding Lily; Molly was adding extra sun block to herself although she was already covered well; Tonks, Alicia, and Angelina were sitting on the couch talking; and Penny and Cecilia were following Mimi around, already dressed in their bathing suits and covered in sun block. I brought Willa with me to them.

"This is Mimi." I said, lifting up the kitten so they could pet her. Penny began petting her gently with a smile on her face.

"Me-me?" Cecilia asked.

"Yes, Mimi." I said. Cecilia smiled and joined Penny in petting Mimi. Willa reached out to pet the cat like Cecilia and Penny. Mimi purred and all three girls giggled. Ginny came down the stairs and joined us with a full Lily who was dressed in a pink bathing suit and adorable little sundress.

"I can't believe Harry wouldn't let me have one of these." Ginny said, petting Mimi. "It's so cute." I laughed.

"How do Sasha and Trey like Snoops?" I questioned, referring to their new kitten.

"They like cats so Sasha's happy. She's bought the cat a fancy rhinestone collar." Ginny said.

"That sounds like something Sasha would do." I said. Molly came over with sun block.

"Have you covered up?" Molly asked. She had a hat on her head for other protection aside from the long sundress and layers of sunblock she had on.

"Mum, the point of being on vacation is to get a little tanner." Ginny said. She held up a bottle of tanning lotion.

"Ginny, you'll burn up!" Molly exclaimed in horror. She handed the bottle of sun block to me. "Make sure you and Willa are covered." She advised. "And this is a lovely home, Hermione."

"Thank you." I smiled. Just then the door from the garage opened and the bathing suit clad Weasley brothers including Harry, Arthur, and Lupin came into the room. Fred ran in and picked Angelina up and lifted her over his shoulder.

"Swimming!" He exclaimed, spinning Angelina around. She protested but couldn't stop laughing.

"Sun block everyone!" Molly announced, holding up another bottle of SPF 50.

After everyone was covered in sun block on Molly's orders, the pool toys were inflated, and all of the children had swimmies on we started the walk to the pool.

All seven children enjoyed themselves, splashing around the water and attempting to swim. Greg was hesitant at first to go in the water and cried when he was first placed in the water; Willa loved the water (she floated along in her own inflatable chair and liked splashing Ron); Lex and Cecilia laughed while they were having splash fights; Penny attempted to swim like Lupin; Lily liked sitting in her father's arms while they wandered through the water; and Max splashed around by himself.

Alicia hung in the shade with Molly while everyone else came into the pool with the children. Fred and George jumped in and splashed the children, which they found incredibly funny.

Later on that evening Ron drove his car to the hotel while George drove my car. Fleur and Tonks stayed with the children since they still had clothes to change into at my house. They offered to help me make dinner.

I came down the stairs with a freshly changed and fed Willa in a light purple onesie. Fleur and Tonks had dressed the other children and they were now sitting either on the floor or on the couch.

"Drink! Drink!" Penny demanded.

"Penny." Tonks said sharply, giving her daughter a look.

"Drink pease!" Penny said. She gave her mother a smile and her eyes flashed a rose color that made her look innocent. Her brown hair with multi-colored streaks was tied back in a ponytail she wore a light blue sundress.

"Yes you may have a drink." Tonks said, smiling at her daughter.

"Mama!" Lex called. "Drink puh-le-ah-se." He sounded out the word.

"Yes, baby." Fleur said. Max and Greg were having fun playing with the television remote and Lily was squirming around on the floor. Cecilia was sitting cross-legged and watching Mimi play. I placed Willa on the ground with Lily but she started crawling around immediately. Laughing, I joined Fleur and Tonks in the kitchen.

"'Ermione you 'ave a lovely 'ome." Fleur said. "And California eez a wonderful place."

"Thank you." I said smiling. I began unloading things out of the refrigerator for making dinner. I got apple juice and handed it to Fleur who poured it into sippy cups for the two thirsty children. As I brought the things to the counter I found Willa at my feet, lifting her arms and wanting to be picked up. "Willa?" I asked in mock surprise. She giggled as I lifted her up. "I knew crawling was going to be a difficult stage." I brought her back over to the living room with her cousins.

"Here. Its simple." Tonks said. She raised her wand and said a spell. This time when Willa tried to crawl toward me an invisible barrier stopped her.

"Eh?" She asked, batting her fists at the invisible wall.

"It keeps them from getting all over the place." Tonks explained. She smiled at me and walked through the transparent barricade. Tonks took Penny's hand and brought Penny to where Willa was. "You remember Penny right, Willa?" Willa turned to look at Penny who stood with her sippy cup in hand, smiling at Willa.

"Hi!" Penny said to Willa.

"Oohayieah!" Willa said in frustration and then turned to hit the invisible wall again.

"Penny, why don't you take Willa to play?" Tonks suggested. "Just be careful because Willa is littler than you."

"Little?" Penny asked. Tonks nodded. Penny got down on all fours like Willa. "Kitty!" Penny exclaimed waving her arm for Willa to follow. She began crawling towards Cecilia and Mimi. "Me-me!" She explained. Willa looked at me one last time before turning and following Penny to be like the big kids.

"Ya! Ah! La!" Willa shouted.

"Wi-la!" Penny said to Cecilia and pointed at Willa.

"Me-me!" Cecilia said pointing at the kitten. Tonks and I laughed before joining Fleur in the kitchen.

"'Ermione, 'ow do you do eet?" Fleur asked as she cut vegetables up. "I could not imagine having a baby so young. I admire you and Ginny."

"Yeah, I don't know if I could have handled a baby when I was twenty." Tonks agreed. I laughed.

"Trust me, if you had your children when you were my age, you would learn to deal." I assured them. I turned for a second and watched my daughter interact with her kitten, Cecilia, and Penny. Cecilia and Penny were now trying to get the other children to come see the kitten too. It was amusing watching Penny try and get Lily to come.

"Come see Me-me!" Penny said to Lily who lay on her stomach squirming around on the play mat. Lily stared at her and giggled.

"Layahyelah." Lily said and then turned to grab a rattle. Penny gave up and went to try and get Lex to see that kitten.

As we got dinner started the door opened and Ron led the crowd of Weasleys in.

"Something smells good." Molly noted. "Do you need help?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, ze tomatoes need slicing." Fleur said. Molly smiled and began cutting. She looked paler than everyone who was either red or tan.

"Ron, get the gifts." I said, wiping my hands on my apron.

"Ok." Ron agreed. He hurried to the closet where we stashed the gifts we got for everyone in Disney. Everyone hurried in to see their children. Ron instructed them to sit in the living room. It was a tight squeeze and if you weren't pregnant or one of the lucky few to make it on the furniture you were sitting on the floor. Ron began handing out the gifts, which I neatly wrapped and labeled during all my free time this week. Once everyone had their gifts, Ron lifted Willa up and brought her out of the barrier and next to me. (She looked amazed that she got out.) I had even wrapped on for her so she wouldn't feel left out.

"Look at that Lily." Harry said. "Uncle Ron and Aunt 'Mione got you a princess doll and a pretty dress."

"Ohhhh." Lily looked amazed at her stuffed Little Mermaid doll. She smiled.

"What do we say Penny?" Lupin asked as Penny threw the wrapping paper on the ground that was covering her Belle stuffed animal.

"Tank yoou!" Penny exclaimed, showing her doll to Cecilia.

"Tank you!" Cecilia said after Penny. She smiled and showed her Cinderella doll to Penny. Lex, Max, and Greg looked pleased with their stuffed animals.

"Ducky!" Greg exclaimed happily as he showed his mother Donald Duck.

Ron and I smiled as everyone enjoyed their gifts. Fred and George came over wearing their goofy hats and Disney Land t-shirts.

"Thank you Willa." Fred said. When Willa saw the hats, she began crying.

"Fred you scared her!" George exclaimed hitting his twin.

"She didn't like the characters." I explained as I tried to comfort her. Fred and George took off their hats.

"Look Willa, it's just us." Fred said.

"Yeah, your favorite uncles." George said. I turned Willa so she could look at them. Her crying slowly stopped and she looked at Fred and George.

"Ahieahya." Willa said with a tearstained face.

"Yes, just goofy Uncle Fred and Uncle George." I said, wiping her eyes.

"Ah!" Willa said. She turned back to me and held up her doll. I smiled at her and kissed her nose.

"Yes, you got a dolly too like your cousins." I said.

"Ah! AH!" Willa said. She squirmed in my arms letting me know that she wanted to get down. I placed her back in the area where the children were and she started crawling around with her doll in her arms. I watched my daughter and smiled. She was getting so big.

x

Dinner didn't take long to finish. Out back we enlarged a table to seat eighteen and seven children. During dinner we had quite the intellectual conversation.

"No, Ron's hippogriff impression completely beats Charlie acting like a dragon!" Fred argued.

"No, the dragon impression was funnier!" George argued.

"Now, I've got to see those." Bill said. He turned to Ron and Charlie. "Planning on doing any animal impressions later?" He asked.

"Yeah, of you." Charlie said to Bill who laughed.

"Ha, ha!" Ron said sarcastically. He tapped Fred on the shoulders.

"OW! Damn it Ron!" Fred cowered, covering his sunburned shoulders. Everyone else laughed.

"Well, I would like to make a toast." Arthur said, standing up. "To Ron, Hermione, and Willa who have a wonderful home here in California and have been very hospitable. Thank you!" Arthur raised his glass and everyone joined in. I was pleased that they approved and no longer felt like they were angry that we left. I looked at Ron who was smiling too. He looked happy as well and I knew that he'd wanted to prove himself capable for a long time. Now he had a family, a good job, a nice house, and his family approved of it all.

"Yeah, good job Ron." Fred said. He flung a piece of chicken at Ron. Ron went to go throw something back but Molly stopped him.

"Enough." She said, but she was laughing.

The time change was difficult to take at first so everyone pretty tired. Ron and George drove them to the hotel (Ron and George drove as many as they could fit and then they came back, George left my car and Ron drove everyone else and George back).

Ron returned and he, Willa, and I watched a movie.

Friday we went to the beach. Everyone (even Molly) enjoyed themselves. Fred and George taught Lex, Cecilia, and Penny how to build a magically reinforced sandcastle; the other four children had fun running (or crawling in Willa's case and squirming in Lily's case) around the blanket and playing tag with Uncle Ron and Uncle Percy.

Friday night we brought everyone to the ShoreHouse for dinner. They all enjoyed the comfy feel of the restaurant and we invited Becki, Paul, and Anna to sit with us. So far everyone was having a great time.

On Saturday, I took Molly, Tonks, Fleur, Alison, Penelope, Angelina, Alicia, and Ginny to the Farmer's Market to pick up vegetables for the dinner on Sunday night. (I took Ron's car, which was different for me and it made Molly very nervous.) The children stayed home with their fathers so they could go swimming.

We arrived home to a messy house but there were seven children and each of them were still alive with every body part intact. Ginny had a fit that Harry dressed Lily in a t-shirt and jeans but other than that nothing to major (unless you're talking to Ginny then it was a HUGE deal).

Sunday morning I was woken by the most adorable little giggle.

"Hey baby!" I said tiredly, sitting up and lifting Willa into my arms. "Good morning."

"Eiaholamaya!" Willa said. I laughed. Ron smiled and handed me a jewelry box.

"What's this?" I asked, smiling.

"A little something from Willa for her mum." Ron said.

"Why thank you Willa." I said. I kissed her nose and she giggled again. "And thank you too." I said to Ron. I kissed him. "I know Willa works hard at the Gazette all day but she must have had some help paying for this." Ron chuckled.

"Well I did help. After all the best mummy in the world deserves the best jewelry." Ron said. I laughed and kissed him once more. Willa puckered her lips again wanting a second kiss. I laughed and kissed her nose again before opening the jewelry box.

"Oh wow." I breathed when I opened it. In the box sat a necklace. It had three stones set in white gold on a medium length chain.

"Look, it's a sapphire, an opal, and an aquamarine." Ron said, pointing out the different stones. "September, October, and March birthstones." I smiled at Ron and hugged him.

"Ron, it's beautiful!" I said.

"Eiahya!" Willa said, begging for attention.

"And thank you too, little girl!" I said. I lifted her up and kissed her cheek. She giggled.

The three of us lounged in bed for another hour. Ron helped me get my necklace on and Willa lifted it up to inspect it. It was nice to spend this time together the three of us. Midnight and Mimi joined us in our bedroom as well. They lounged by the door to the balcony where the sun was shinning in.

"I guess we better get ready." I said, stretching out. Willa copied me. "People will be hungry."

"You can count on it." Ron said. He showered while I spent a few minutes with Willa, just the two of us.

"Can you say 'Mama'?" I asked her as we lay on the bed. Willa just stared at me, making her usual noises. "Ok, what about 'Dada'?" She just stared at me again. "We'll work on it." I said to her. She giggled. "Oh, I love you girly." I said. She smiled at me and the feeling of being a mother swelled in my chest.

Ron left to go pick his family up while Willa and I got dressed. I dressed in a soft blue sundress and dressed Willa in a light yellow one. We went downstairs and I placed Willa in her highchair with a sippy cup of juice. I began searching through the fridge to find something to make for breakfast when the door opened and everybody came in. George had a large bag of bagels.

"Happy Mother's Day!" Molly said, hugging me.

"Thank you. Happy Mother's Day to you too." I said. I smiled at her. "You raised seven of them. I only have one…I'm amazed." Molly laughed.

"You pick up a trick or two when there's more than one." Molly said. She smiled at me and moved on.

"Happy Mother's Day!" Ginny shouted, throwing her arms around my neck.

"Same to you!" I replied. Ginny looked relaxed today in a pair of jeans and a comfortable looking white sweater.

"Mummy day! Mummy day!" Penny and Cecilia were yelling as they ran in the house in search of Mimi.

"What did you get for Mother's Day?" Ginny questioned. She held up her charm bracelet that had a new charm on it. It was an "L" that stood for Lily. I showed her my necklace. "Nice taste Wil!" Ginny said, nodding her approval. She moved along to say hello to her niece.

"Happy Mother's Day 'Mione." Harry said.

"And same to you." I said, hugging him. He smiled and brought a tired Lily to the couch. Ron entered the house last.

"Shipping everyone back and forth…has definitely lost some of its appeal." He said. I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck to kiss him properly.

"Thank you." I said. I pressed my mouth against his.

"For what?" Ron asked bashfully.

"For everything." I kissed him again and joined the family crowded around the table in an effort to get their bagel buttered.

We spent the day relaxing and playing games. It was really enjoyable to just hang around the house and celebrate with my entire family. I even sent a little Mother's Day note for Becki and Anna after the owl returned from bringing mum's gift. I also decided to call mum up.

"Happy Mother's Day!" I said as she answered the phone.

"Thank you Hermione." Mum said sounding surprised. "And…Happy Mother's Day to you too." I knew it was difficult for her to say but it meant a lot.

"How are you?" I asked.

"Fine, fine." Mum replied quickly. "How's my granddaughter?"

"She's doing great mum." I assured her.

"Can I speak to her?" Mum asked. Despite my protests mum finally persuaded me to hold the phone up to Willa's ear so she could talk. Willa couldn't stay still for longer than one "Ah!" but mum was happy to have heard from her. "What's all that noise?" Mum asked. "Is that the TV? Hermione, you shouldn't have that on so loud. It's bad for her…"

When I finally hung up the phone I was slightly frustrated but felt that I had done the right thing by calling my mother. She even said hello to Ron.

After dinner that night Ron brought his tired parents to the hotel but everyone else decided to stay for a little while. The children were sleeping and we were all sitting out in the back. I sat, wrapped in a big sweater next to Ron. We had a fire going on the grill and Fred and George were attempting to roast marshmallows.

"This has been fun." Fred decided as he positioned a marshmallow on a gram cracker for Angelina. "I have to admit that I can see why you guys like it here." Ron and I smiled at him.

"Well, thanks." Ron said. (The nicest, most serious thing they've said to each all the long weekend.)

"We'll definitely be visiting more often." Charlie agreed.

"Yeah, I don't know how Max is going to take leaving tomorrow." Alison said. She sat in a lawn chair in front of Charlie. They both had a quilt wrapped around them.

"Cecilia weel miss ze kitten, zat's for sure." Fleur said. "Eet eez too bad I am allergic." She rested in another chair while Bill sat at her feet. I smiled as I listened to everyone talk about how great of a time they had. Sure when they were gone tomorrow I'd have a whole house to clean from top to bottom but it's been fun.

"Today had officially been the best Mother's Day ever." Ginny said. She smiled at her new charm that hung on her bracelet.

"Gin, it's been your first Mother's Day as a mum." Percy protested.

"Yeah, but that means it's the best so far." I said, knowing exactly how Ginny felt.

"The first Mother's Day always feels like that." Tonks assured us. "And then the second is even better." She smiled at Lupin and gave his hand a squeeze.

"Father's Day is the same way." He assured Harry and Ron.

"I can't wait for the next Mother's Day." Alicia said with her hands over her stomach. George wrapped his arms around her. "It'll be doubly special." She said.

"Fred." Angelina said, looking up at her husband with longing eyes. He wrapped an arm around her.

"We'll talk about it." Fred said. "And maybe by the time the next Mother's Day rolls around, you'll be pregnant."

"Sounds good." She agreed. At least they were on the same page.

I fingered the necklace around my neck, thinking about my daughter. Mother's Day meant something to me now. I was 'Mum' to a beautiful crawling gibberish-talking happy little girl.

Each and every day I felt like a mother but today, Mother's Day, made the feeling even greater.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!! -Kylie**


	10. Success

**a/n: hi! So I had a lot of fun camping but now I'm back to update!! Yay! While I was camping I brought my notebook with me and planned out a lot of things. So far what I'm thinking is that this story will be around forty...maybe forty-five chapters and then the next story will be several years in the future (the summer before Willa's last year of Hogwarts) and it will be different points of view. Like Willa, her sibblings, Ron, and Hermione. I also have every name picked out for all of the Weasleys, Potters, Lovegood-Longbottoms, Parkers (Sasha and Trey's kids), Malfoys, and pretty much everyone else. Oh and I've already picked who their children were going to end up with...some are very interesting combinations. **

**If you want to know the names of their children...then I'll write them in the next author's note at the bottom but let me know if you do or do not want to know...**

**For this chapter...originally I wasn't going to do a bridal shower in the story but it fit in with the chapter. I would like to thank Anna for giving me the idea for the bridal shower, as well as the quote, and for reading this over and editing it! Thanks!!**

**Ok, so I'm working on chapter thirteen at the moment and if I get enough reviews I'll update tomorrow!! **

**Always,  
Kylie**

_There is nothing like sweet success._

You know the feeling once you've accomplished something? It starts with a sense of pride that swells inside of you and is followed by the notion that you actually completed something. Finally there's the satisfied smile that comes with the realization that you were successful in accomplishing the task set for you.

As much as I love succeeding in something and going through the stages of success, its fun to watch someone else accomplish something and see the satisfaction on their face once they've finally done something that they hadn't been able to master or when something that they've been working hard at for the longest time is finally done.

Watching others succeed is just as satisfying as succeeding yourself. Whether it's my daughter hitting a significant point in her development, watching a friend master a feat that she had difficulty with, or knowing that a friend has accomplished something that no other wizard has been able to, its gratifying to see success.

The day before the Longbottom Magictronics release party and two days before Ginny's bridal shower, Luna came to visit while the decorators were getting her large beach house ready for the party. It was a Thursday so Ron was off and he was inside playing with Willa while Luna and I chatted outside, drinking iced tea on this very hot summer day.

"California is really a lovely place." Luna said after taking a long sip. She was sitting in the shade dressed in a colorful and eccentric patterned sundress. Her seven-month pregnant belly extended underneath her flowing gown.

"It is." I agreed, fanning myself with my hand and holding my tea in the other. I wore a white and red strapless dress with my hair pulled back. It was incredibly hot but it was still a nice day and I wasn't about to waste it being inside.

"Did you hear Hannah Macmillan had her baby?" Luna asked lazily, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"Yeah. Ginny told me." I said, just as lazily. "Samuel Macmillan." I shut my eyes and leaned my head back to try and get some more color on my shoulders.

"She told me too." Luna said. We both laughed tiredly.

Neither of us really wanted to talk much. We were enjoying the warm sun in the quiet although we still did make feeble attempts at conversation.

"How's Phinny?" I inquired. I pried an eye open to see Luna smiling at her stomach.

"He's coming along well." she said with a smile. "My due date is August 12th but I think he might come sooner."

"Be careful he doesn't come later." I advised her. "Being over nine months pregnant is so annoying." She smiled.

"Whenever he's ready, he's got two loving parents waiting for him." Luna smiled and rubbed her bump. I smiled back and shut my eyes. It amazed me how serene Luna could be about everything.

"Hermione! Hermione!" Ron yelled from inside. I shot up in alarm and looked to see Ron beckoning me inside urgently. I hurried in while Luna carefully took her time getting up.

"What's wrong?" I asked, adjusting to the dimmer light in the house.

"Look 'Mione!" Ron said, proudly pointing at Willa. With the help of the coffee table she had pulled herself into a standing position. She was smiling and for only a second longer stood there until she released the coffee table and fell on her bum, giggling.

"Oh Willa, you stood!" I exclaimed. I hurried forward to kiss and hug her.

"Yahyealaa!" Willa responded. She didn't want to stay still for too long because she got back on her hands and knees and began crawling around again.

"Oh my God, Ron, she was standing." I said again, tearing up. Ron was smiling just as big.

"She was crawling around and her doll was on the coffee table." Ron explained with a huge grin on his face. "It was so amazing. She just pulled herself up at the coffee table. My little girl is so smart." I got down on my knees in front of Willa.

"Can you stand up again?" I asked her. "Can you stand for Mama?"

"Ahyeiahooo!" Willa said. I moved out of her way and laughed as she crawled around me and batted her doll at the barrier that surrounded the living room. She was determined to get past the invisible walls that kept her only crawling around the living room.

"Oh, that's so amazing." Luna said from the door. She rubbed her stomach. "And Phinny's kicking too. He's happy for Willa." She smiled dreamily and sank onto the couch. I smiled and watched Willa beat her fists against the barrier and then gave up to go find Mimi.

It was incredibly amazing to watch my daughter develop. Each time she hit a milestone, I felt the accomplishment that she would feel if she were aware of it. And every time it happened I felt more proud of my daughter who was doing so much. The next step: taking her first step…

Friday was going to be one of the biggest nights in Wizarding history. Longbottom Magictronics was being released and people were already lining up at the doors of new stores, waiting to get their hands on the new technology.

Neville was holding a party at his house for the release. Just about everyone involved with the products was going to be there, as well as Neville and Luna's friends, and other up and coming celebrities. It was sure going to be something, something big.

Ron and I left the house at eight after dropping Willa off with Molly. Ron was wearing a nice tux for the fancy party and I had on a light gray dress with some silver jewelry.

The whole thing was going to be an amazing night. Luna explained all the details to me yesterday. They had gift bags with M-phones (Magictronics-phones), palm pilots, a laptop, the first few episodes of _Neville and Luna Coming To America_ on DVD, and a few other movies that were recently made. At midnight, stores would sell TV's, laptops, M-phones, etc… and at midnight, they will premiere a special programming on WTV (Wizard TV). The theme of the party was Futuristic Magic. Everything was silver and magical…I didn't know what that meant but that was the way Luna explained it to me.

We pulled up to Neville and Luna's beachside Malibu house an hour later. A wizard in red robes took our car and gave us a ticket.

"Wow." Ron said as the valet pulled away in his TrailBlazer. "Neville wasn't kidding when they said they had a nice house on the beach." I turned to the house where I could hear interesting music emitting from. It was a large white house with a few palm trees in the front.

"Shall we go in?" I asked. Ron held out his arm for me and nodded with a smile on his face.

"Yeah. I want to see what's inside of here." he said.

Neville met us halfway to the door. He was beaming in the face as he greeted us.

"I'm glad you guys are here! Ginny, Harry, Sasha, and Trey just got here. Come on, I'll show you the place. We've got a TV in the rec. room playing our TV show. It's so cool!" Neville smiled brightly. I noticed his excitement that he had for this party. Everything that he'd worked on since leaving Hogwarts was finally coming together. He had accomplished this amazing thing that no other wizard had succeeded at before him and I didn't blame him for being this happy about it.

Neville led us to the inside of his home. There were silver decorations everywhere with shooting stars, complements of Fred and George, whizzing by people's heads. On a TV screen in the rec. room, Neville and Luna were smiling at the camera. It was funny to see friends on reality TV (or WTV) but it was also pretty cool.

Their house has seven bedrooms, five bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room, family room, rec. room, and an upper and lower deck where the ocean could be seen. It was an extraordinary home.

"Do you see this house?" Ron asked in amazement as Neville went to get us drinks. "You could get lost in here! I wish I thought of making this stuff." I laughed.

"Well, I think we have a lovely home even if it isn't as big." I said.

"Whatever you say hon." Ron said. I laughed and we joined Harry, Ginny, Sasha, and Trey at a table on the upper deck. Neville and Luna joined us a little while later. We all talked a little before we were urged to mingle.

Ron and I met some very interesting people as we mingled through the crowd. We came to a conclusion by the time it was almost Midnight that we were not surprised that these people were friends of Neville and Luna. We had learned to always expect the unexpected with them.

Fred, Angelina, George, Alicia, Lupin, and Tonks were all here as well. After making polite conversation with the people we didn't know, we spoke with them until it was time for the countdown.

"10…9…8…" I felt like it was New Years as everyone crowded around the TV and waited for WTV to start its first program.

"7…6…" The lights in the room dimmed; everyone's attention turned to the television.

"5…4…3…" I gave Ron's hand a squeeze and he smiled at me.

"2…1!" Everyone cheered as something came on the TV.

"Welcome to WTV News. I'm your news anchor, Rod Ryans and I'm proud to be here for the first program ever on WTV. Of course we have Neville Longbottom to thank for this. He's the brilliant mastermind behind all of this new technology. I think we have a clip of Neville's new reality WTV show. It's a program about Neville and his wife as they fit into life in America." The news went on to report about Neville and then the goings on in the Wizarding world.

It really was a brilliant party that went on into the early morning hours. Finally we found Neville and Luna on the upper deck, being congratulated. Both of them were still beaming brightly at the success that Longbottom Magictronics had become in less than two hours. Luna was holding the white kitten that was getting bigger since we gave them the kitten. His name was London.

"Stores have sold out!" Neville said with a smile on his face. I wasn't sure but the grin looked permanently fixed on his face. It was nice though, to see Neville's accomplishments, finally out there for the Wizarding world. Next month when he had the premiere party at their flat in London, I hope he would feel just as happy.

"Neville, that's great. We're really happy for you!" Ron said.

"It is. This is brilliant." I said. Neville smiled even bigger. There was nothing like adding compliments to success. It was the perfect mixture.

"And the palm pilot is _so _cool!" Sasha said. "I can keep a record of all the classes that I have to teach next semester!" She held up the palm pilot to show Neville her schedule. "And Bridal Shower tomorrow is the first thing I get to enter in!" she said.

"The computer is awesome." Trey informed Neville. "Now I can play video games at work…when I'm not busy."

"Well _Breakout_ looks like a brilliant movie." Harry said, referring to one of the DVD's in his silver gift bag. By the looks of it, it was about Aurors tracking down escaped convicts that broke free from Azkaban.

"I love it all!" Ginny said excitedly.

We continued to praise Neville on his products and let him bask in the glory of his success for a few more minutes. I noticed how Luna took Neville's success. She was smiling at him with admiration.

Finally we had to leave to go pick up Willa and Lily. It was two in the morning in California and ten in the morning in England. Harry, Ginny, Sasha, and Trey were staying over since the bridal shower was the next day. Ron, Harry, Neville, and Trey were going to Disney Land the next day with Willa and Lily while Sasha, Ginny, Luna, and I would be at Ginny's bridal party. Sasha, Luna, and I worked hard for weeks planning this and were finally satisfied with how our idea of the party came out.

The next morning I was awake at seven. Everyone else was still sleeping. I got Willa and Lily up and brought them to the highchairs in the dinning room. Sasha and Trey were asleep in the wand-made guest room and Harry and Ginny were asleep on the bed that I conjured in Willa's room. Willa spent the night in our room while Lily slept in Willa's crib. Now both girls were up and I thought I'd let everyone sleep a little longer before they had to get up.

As I sat down to enjoy a nice breakfast with Willa and Lily, there was a tap at the back door. A large brown and black owl was at the door with a small square box attached to his leg. I hurried to let the owl in. Another one followed with the usual morning copy of the England Gazette.

Willa and Lily giggled as the two owls took flight again, departing and leaving the box and the paper behind. Curiously, I opened the box stamped with a Magictronics label first. Inside the small box was a large TV that had to be extracted magically. A DVD player and magic cable box were also stuffed in the box.

With a wave of my wand, I conducted the Magictronics TV where the muggle one was located. I flicked my wand once more and WTV news came on.

"Good morning." Rod Ryans said from the TV screen. With a smile, I flicked my wand again: Wizard Entertainment channel doing a profile on new celebrities; once again: Comedy Channel had stand up comedians on; yet again: Witch Style had a makeover show on; and on the fifth flick I found something interesting. It was called _Pals_ and about six friends living in L.A. Of course it was a knockoff of the muggle TV show _Friends_ but I still found it funny.

Ron was the next one awake. He smiled when he saw the large television he ordered.

"Awesome!" He declared. He took out his wand and began flicking through the channels.

"I was watching that." I protested. "It's my new favorite WTV show."

"Sorry, my love." Ron said. He leaned down and gave me a kiss. Willa puckered her lips as well, wanting a kiss. "And you too." he said kissing Willa's forehead and then kissing Lily's. He sat down with a bowl of cereal and we both watched the WTV news.

Eventually everyone woke up and joined us for breakfast. When I was done I took Willa to get ready for her day in Disneyland with her daddy, Uncle Harry, Neville and Trey. I dressed her in a light pink sundress with her white hat to protect her face from the sun. Ron took her downstairs with everyone while I got ready for the Bridal Shower. I smiled as I dressed in a coral colored dress with matching flip-flops hoping that Ginny would enjoy what we had planned for her.

x

An hour later, eleven "students" stood in front of cooking stations at the San Clemente Cooking School. This was stop number one of the bridal shower. We were going to learn how to make a meal and bake something. Sasha proposed the idea and Luna and I agreed. We all knew how Ginny was when it came to cooking.

"This is a lost cause." Ginny assured us, but she seemed pleased in her white sparkly apron that read, _I'm Getting Married!_ It was a gift from Fred and George after Angelina and Alicia told them what Ginny's shower day entailed.

Molly looked excited to learn a new recipe (upon learning that this was the first destination of the day she composed a book of recipes for Ginny that was wrapped and waiting at my house with the other gifts); Tonks was working on her appearance to look more chef-like; Fleur, who already knew how to cook, was concerned with explaining the different kitchen utensils to Ginny; Alison was excitedly tying her apron on, she thought that this was a brilliant idea for the shower; Penelope was double-checking to make sure her station was clean and everything was in order (I didn't blame her, this was a cooking _class_ and although we weren't getting graded I still wanted to excel); Angelina was cleaning up something she spilt; Alicia was picking at some food that was set out at her station; Sasha was taking pictures of everyone for a wedding scrapbook; and Luna was sitting at her own station following what Alicia was doing. Instead of having a big event at a hall, we decided that it would be better to have a more intimate shower with family and bridesmaids. I smiled at everyone who seemed to be enjoying themselves as the cooking instructor walked in with a big smile on her face.

"Hello everyone!" She said smiling. "I'm Caroline and today I am going to teach you how to cook the muggle way as well as how to use your wands in the kitchen when preparing a dish." Caroline had long curly hair and warm hazel eyes. She was on the short side but the chef's hat made her look taller.

She got into a description on what we were making and then we were ready to make Olio e Aglio Pasta, which was actually just angel hair pasta with oil and garlic. She instructed us on everything and we went step by step into making it. Finally when she finished the instructions, she made the rounds to see how it all turned out.

"And how did the bride-to-be manage?" Caroline asked, walking over to Ginny's station. I turned away from my own pasta to see how Ginny's came out. Unfortunately everyone else did too.

"I, uh, tried everything that you said to do and it looks like it came out ok…" Ginny looked nervous as she pushed a bowl of Olio e Aglio Pasta in front of Caroline. I held my breath as Caroline stuck her fork into the bowl, twisted it, and then brought it to her mouth to take a bite. The room was completely silent as we waited for her verdict.

"Not bad." Caroline decided, smiling. "You know Ginny, with some practice you could cook a more elaborate meal as well." Ginny smiled and I released my breath. "This came out really well though." Caroline smiled at her and moved onto Luna's station. Ginny was still smiling as she grabbed her own fork to try her pasta. She smiled after swallowing.

"It isn't bad." She observed in awe. I laughed as she took another bite. "In fact, I think I might make this for Harry tonight." I smiled at Ginny and saw the look on her face. She was in the realization stage of accomplishment. Finally, with some instruction, she had succeeded in cooking something.

As ok as her Olio e Aglio Pasta came out…Ginny had a little bit more trouble with the baking Colorful Cupcakes part of the lesson. This was when we got to use our wands.

"And with our wands we want to guide our flour into the mixing bowl. Now not too forcefully…" Caroline said. Gently I guided my flour into the bowl and waited for Caroline to give the next instruction. That was when I heard the sound of a flour bag ripping and a moment later, flour was raining down on me like a snowstorm.

"Ooops." I head from Ginny's direction. I heard a giggle from Sasha's way and after a loud, unexpected sneeze from Tonks' station I heard laughing from everywhere. I joined in as the flour began to settle down and I could see clearly now. Even Caroline was laughing. Ginny, on the other hand, looked devastated that her second attempt at making something was not as successful as the first. It took her a minute but once she took a look around at everyone who was covered in flour, she couldn't help but crack a floury smile. "Sorry." she said, shrugging. The tan she had gotten from being in California was now covered in flour as was her hair and bright red dress. Once she got a good look at herself she let out a full on laugh and Sasha snapped her picture.

"Stick to cooking Gin, I don't know if baking is right for you." Angelina said with a laugh. We all continued to laugh as Caroline lifted the flour mess with her wand. The flour didn't completely come off of us but it was mostly gone.

Ginny helped me finish off my purple frosted cupcakes and everyone enjoyed one of their own cupcakes before we would move onto our next destination. I had the cupcake recipe written down for Willa's first birthday party.

Our next destination was somewhere we thought Ginny would love. The spa.

"Oh…my…GOD!" Ginny exclaimed, walking into the fancy spa. The other women stared in awe at the beautiful fancy Witches' Spa.

"Welcome." a tall blonde woman said in a serene tone. Ginny smiled brighter and squeezed my arm happily. Now this was the kind of Bridal Shower she wanted.

First up was massages followed by a relaxing manicure and pedicure.

As we sat in chairs getting our toenails painted a soft pink, a spa worker came in balancing a tray of fancy cups on a tray. I knew Ginny would love this part. Sasha had some strings pulled here but we were able to create a special ice cream for Ginny.

"The Ginny flavor." The witch said, handing Ginny a fancy cup with chocolate ice cream, caramel, brownie pieces, chocolate chips, fudge, whip cream, and a cherry to top it all off. Ginny looked at Sasha, Luna, and me in shock.

"We know how much you love ice cream." I said. "It's all your favorites together." Ginny smiled and stuck her spoon into the ice cream.

"Oh ma God." she said with a mouthful. "This is AMAZINE!" She declared. We all laughed and tried our own Ginny ice cream. And for the first ice cream I'd had since I was pregnant it was amazing!

Later that evening all the others had gone home except Ginny and Sasha. We sat out back where Ginny's gifts sat on the table. She was looking through the recipe book, debating on whether or not she should try making chicken or another pasta for dinner for Harry.

"I feel so relaxed." I said, sighing and leaning back in my chair. Apparently I had a lot of tension in my back. It was all gone now. I felt just as serene as the people who worked at the spa. I took a look at my pretty pink nails.

"Gin, you're not going to fit into that wedding dress if you don't give that ice cream a rest." Sasha joked as Ginny dug into the pint of Ginny ice cream, complements of the spa.

"So." Ginny protested with a mouthful of cold ice cream. "I'm making it. I can alter it if I need to." The three of us laughed.

"Hermione, I love your house." Sasha said. "It's adorable." She rested her head against her own chair, looking relaxed as well. I smiled at Sasha as the door to the inside slid open. Ron walked outside with a Disney clothing clad Willa. I heard the WTV on inside (Trey found the Comedy Channel the most amusing one).

"So then I said, 'that's not my poodle…that's my grandma!'" The Comedy Channel might get old after a while, though…

"Ah!" Willa exclaimed when she saw me. I smiled and stood up.

"Hi baby!" I said. I hugged Willa and kissed her forehead. "Did you have fun with Daddy today?"

"Ahyeahla." Willa replied. I surveyed her wardrobe. Over her pink sundress, she wore a Disney Land t-shirt with several Disney characters on it. She had on a Disney hat and a Tinkerbell stuffed animal in her hand, along with a fake magic wand. She was waving it around and shouting out baby gibberish. My little witch.

"We did have fun." Ron said. He had on the same Disney t-shirt as Willa and a funny hat on his head. He also had a fake magic wand like Willa.

"Well, look at you." I said. "Very hot. I especially like the hat." Ron chuckled and bent his head to kiss me.

"I thought you'd like it." He said. I smiled back while Willa squirmed in my arms. We followed Ginny and Sasha inside where I set Willa down. She immediately began crawling around the room.

"Oh my, Lily." Ginny said when she saw her daughter. Lily was covered in Disney merchandise as well although she was dressed in a Cinderella costume. It took Ginny a moment but she refrained from flipping out. "You look adorable." She said. I watched as Sasha sat down on the couch next to Trey who was laughing at the TV. She was watching Willa with a longing look in her eyes. She looked at Trey and pointed to Willa who was attempting to get out of the barrier. He kissed her forehead and whispered something to her. She smiled and rested her head against his shoulder.

"So what's for dinner?" Ron wondered as he grabbed a bottle of Snapple from the refrigerator. He sat down in the chair and set the water on the coffee table.

"Ginny's cooking." I said.

"What?" Ron and Harry asked at the same time.

"Yes. I'm making dinner!" Ginny declared happily. She placed Lily on the play mat and hurried to the kitchen. They both looked at me at the same time with shocked looks on their faces but I just shrugged. Everyone's attention turned to the coffee table as Willa, who was standing, knocked over the Snapple bottle. Brown liquid splashed onto my nice clean beige carpet.

"Oh Willa, you're standing again!" I said. I hurried over but she fell back on her bottom again, not wanting to stand for long.

"Hermione, this might stain." Ron said. He took out his wand but he didn't know any stain removing spells.

"Ron, our daughter's brilliant!" I declared.

"I know Hermione but the Snapple fell." Ron gestured to the liquid on the ground.

"I'll get to it." I assured him, feeling serene about the whole thing.

"Who are you and what have you done with my wife?" Ron asked in shock. I laughed and Willa laughed at me laughing.

"I'm just relaxed." I said.

I had my own minor accomplishment: I was successful at being relaxed about something for once; Ginny had her accomplishment: she was successful at cooking something; Neville had his accomplishment: his successful invention had finally been released and it was a hit; and Willa, my brilliant daughter, was standing now and on her way to walking.

As the saying goes, "there is nothing like sweet success" especially when it comes to family and dear friends. It makes you proud, even if it's someone else's success instead of your own.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!**


	11. Quidditch

**a/n: Hey...again!! So this is the chapter before Harry and Ginny's wedding...it doesn't have much to do with the wedding but if I get enough reviews I'll update tomorrow!! **

**The names of all the future children are at the bottom. You can read them if you want to or be surprised in the next one. I've been working on the timeline for all the children and when they'll come into the story. **

**So on with the chapter!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Let us win, but if we can not win, let us break in a few heads. – Falmouth Falcons' motto_

_Let's all just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. – Chudley Cannons' motto_

Quidditch is something I'll never quite understand. It's a violent sport where people tend to get hurt. They bash each other with Bludgers, throw Quaffles at each other, and fly around in search of a silly gold ball with wings…of course if Ron heard me say this he might actually have a heart attack and then lecture me about the "art" of Quidditch.

The upcoming match on July fifth was the Falcons versus the Cannons. It was a HUGE deal with Ron for two reasons. First, this was going to be Willa's first Quidditch match and he wanted to experience to be a special one for her and second because he was cheering for the Cannons rather than Harry's team. The Cannons had a knack for loosing (whether they were playing the Falcons or not, the team wasn't doing so hot this season. Even I knew this but I humored Ron and didn't say anything).

I was sure this was going to be quite the interesting event…

On July fourth (it was an American holiday called The Fourth of July or Independence Day. I looked up some information when I heard Becki talking about it), Ron and I decided to have a barbeque at our house since it was a custom of this holiday. After the barbeque we were going to walk down to the beach with our friends and watch the fireworks.

To our barbeque (to celebrate the American holiday with all of our friends that we'd met since arriving) we invited Becki, Paul, Anna, Graye, Nick, Jenna, and her husband Nathan. Ron cooked on the grill and we used his new stereo system to hear the music from the backyard. I decorated a little in red, white, and blue and tried to make the place look as festive as possible. So far everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Ron was standing at the grill, having a heated conversation about Quidditch with Paul, Nick, and Nathan; Jenna was informing Becki and Graye about how she took care of herself to look the way she does at thirty-eight; and Willa and Anna played with Mimi and Midnight on the blanket that I set out for them. (Apparently Anna loved the new kitten that she got. Its name was _Linda_, which meant pretty girl in Spanish.)

I placed a bowl of organic corn chips on the table and sat down to talk with Becki, Graye, and Jenna.

"That's amazing." Becki observed, biting into a corn chip. "I am definitely going to check out your book." I smiled at Jenna who loved enlightening younger people on eating right and taking care of themselves.

"I can't believe you get to go to the Falcons and Cannons game!" Nathan said, excitedly. We all turned to the grill where Ron was smiling. Jenna laughed.

"In the VIP box too!" Ron said. I smiled, listening to him brag.

"No!" Paul said in shock. "You'll get to meet the players then." Becki watched her husband get excited about Quidditch and laughed.

"Oh, I've met all the Falcons before." Ron said like it was no big deal. "But tomorrow I'll get to meet the Cannons' Keeper and I've been wanting to get his signature forever! I'm even going to him to sign a little jersey for Willa."

"Can you get the team's signature for me?" Nick asked. Graye chuckled at Nick.

"Sure." Ron shrugged. He was loving this. Soon Paul and Nathan were requesting autographs of Quidditch players while Ron flipped burgers on the grill. He was smiling proudly, really enjoying the benefits of being best friends with the seeker of the Falmouth Falcons.

x

We were up somewhat early the next day so that we could be at the pitch in time. Ron originally painted his face orange but it scared Willa so he ended up washing it all off and wearing the Cannons' t-shirt, hat, and a Cannons' button. He dressed Willa in an orange onesie with a denim overall dress and a Chudley Cannons' jersey over it. He even had a tiny hat for her that she managed to get off once he turned around. Her beautiful light brown hair was prettier without the hat covering it anyways. Unfortunately Ron bought me a new shirt as well so I _had_ to wear the colors to support the Cannons. I paired it with a pair of jean capris and black flip-flops. I didn't let Ron see but I packed a book into Willa's diaper bag for when I got bored during the match.

Once we were ready to go, we Apparated to the destination of the match. I held Willa who looked around curiously at the strange people prancing around, wearing either orange and black or dark gray and white with a falcon emblem.

"Ohahei!" She exclaimed, pointing out someone who was painted a very bright orange and had on a black hat. I tried not to laugh but couldn't help let a chuckle out. Willa giggled as well.

We walked up the million flights of stairs until we reached the VIP box. Harry had fixed it so that for this match only, the box belonged to his guests. Inside the VIP box, Ginny held Lily up to the window where she pointed out everything on the pitch while Neville and Trey, excitedly debated the possible outcomes of tonight's match. Sasha and Luna were sitting in their seats chatting with Angelina and Alicia. Luna was eight months pregnant while Alicia was only five months. Alicia looked as if she could be further along but only because she was (Healer confirmed) carrying twins. Fred and George were off to the side, making a bet on the match. When they saw us, they came over.

"Willa!" they exclaimed together. I handed her to them.

"Is it ok if we take her to go get a foam finger?" Fred wondered.

"We're going to take Lily too." George added.

"As long as it's an orange one then that's fine." Ron said.

"Of course." Fred rolled his eyes and went to go get Lily. When Ginny noticed we were here she hurried over. Ron left to go talk to Neville and Trey.

"Ok, I've got more news in the baby department." she declared, pulling me into a seat next to Luna, Sasha, Angelina, and Alicia.

"Who's pregnant or who popped one out?" I questioned. I had a mild interest in this subject but Ginny seemed to know everything about everyone and their pregnancies. I suppose when you own a dress boutique where women come and tend to gossip, it helps.

"Parvati gave birth to a boy a month ago." Ginny informed me. "Apparently they're doing the whole crazy baby name thing because the baby's name is Maddox Thomas."

"Wow." I said.

"Yep, and Lavender had a girl two weeks ago." Ginny said. "Lilac Finnegan. Do you believe that? Her name is Lavender and she named her kid Lilac. Talk about lack of originality." I laughed. "And you'll never guess who just popped out another one."

"Another?" I questioned.

"Apparently she was buying clothes for the baby and her water broke three weeks early in the store. She was rushed to the hospital and had Little Tristan Draco Lucius Malfoy." Ginny said, watching my shocked expression.

"No!" I said in shock.

"Yes!" Ginny said back. "The woman who works at the baby clothing store was in _Ginny Potter_ the other day and she told me all about it."

"But…Pansy was pregnant again?" I questioned, confused.

"I don't know the whole story with that but I guess so." Ginny responded.

"Gossiping again?" Ginny turned quickly to see Harry dressed in his Falcons uniform. She got up and hugged him. "The match is about to start but I wanted to come up and say hi before I went out."

"Hi!" I said. Harry laughed.

"Hi Hermione. Where's Lily?" he asked Ginny.

"The coveted Potter child is right here." Fred said, holding his niece out for Harry. Harry smiled at Lily.

"There's my good luck charm." he said, smiling brilliantly. He kissed Lily and asked her to wish him good luck.

"Yaieiahya!" Lily said.

"Thank you Lils." Harry said. He turned to Ginny and kissed her. "And my other good luck charm."

"Good luck." Ginny said to Harry. She kissed him twice more before taking Lily who was all decked out in Falcons clothing. All except the orange foam finger.

"What's this?" Ron asked Fred and George, coming over with Willa who had a gray foam finger in her hand.

"I suppose we got them confused." George said with a laugh.

"All right then, I'm off." Harry said.

"Good luck!" We all (except Ron) called to him. He waved back at all of us before leaving the VIP box.

"Yeah…luck." Ron muttered to himself. He traded foam fingers with Ginny and sat down next to me. Willa sat in his lap waving the foam finger because every time she did it said different things.

"Cannons Rule!" said the foam finger. Willa giggled, delighted, and waved the finger again. "Cannons are number one!"

"Look, Wil. You see the orange and black team? That's the team we want to win." Ron said. He pointed out onto the field while Willa waved the finger again.

"Go Cannons! Woo hoo!" The foam finger said.

"Now, I know Uncle Harry is a Falcon and it's fine to cheer for his team – except when he's playing the Cannons. Wil, we're diehard Chudley Cannon fans so even though your godfather thinks he's going to win, we still cheer for the Cannons." he said. "It's just a little rivalry in sports. Don't worry, it's all good fun." Willa didn't really hear him. She waved her fingers again.

"Cannons Rule!" I wondered how long it was going to take her to get bored with that foam finger…

The match was beginning. The commentator announced all of the players for each team.

"And finally…he's the greatest seeker in a decade…he's caught the snitch in more than half of the matches he's played…he's quite the reckless one…he's Harry Potter!" The VIP box went up in cheers. I brought my hands together to clap but Ron shot me a look.

"Sorry." I said. I tried to refrain from laughing. "I meant 'boo'."

"Clap when they announce the Cannons." Ron said. "That way Willa will see you and clap too." I couldn't help from laughing slightly.

"Ok." I agreed. When the Cannons came out I clapped extra vigorously for Ron and Willa clapped too. Ginny booed to try and drown out the cheers and then we had a cheering/booing match going on. Ginny, George, Alicia Trey, Angelina, and Neville booed at the Cannons while Ron, Fred, Sasha, Luna, and I cheered for them.

Once the match started we ceased our cheering and booing to watch what happened.

Falcons scored…then they scored again…and unsurprisingly scored again…

Ron let out loud cheers whenever the Cannons gained control of the Quaffle that were replaced by boos whenever the Falcons stole it back. Willa would excitedly babble whenever Ron was shouting out cheers and when he was booing and shaking his fists at the window, Willa shook her fists. I managed to get a good picture of it for the scrapbook.

Falcons scored…they scored again…Falcons –wait, Cannons stole the Quaffle back and were headed for their goal posts.

"Come on! Come on!" Ron shouted. He stood up with Willa in his arms.

"Aiyeh!" Willa said. But the Falcons Keeper saved it and tossed it back into the game.

"Frick!" Ron exclaimed.

"Aiyoo!" Willa said as if she were angry. Ron chuckled and fell back into his seat with her.

The Cannons managed to score twice out of the entire game. Sadly they were only due to mistakes of the Beaters. For the first one, the beater accidentally hit a Bludger at the Chaser and the Quaffle flew from his hands. The Falcons Keeper was laughing so hard he accidentally let it get by him. On the second one, the other Beater was swinging his bat around doing what looked like swatting a fly. Well, he ended up knocking himself out and fell on the unsuspecting Chaser who was attempting to steal the Quaffle from the Cannons. They made a lucky shot while the team was in chaos.

The Seeker was no better than the other members of the team. Once the Snitch was spotted, he was after it but both he and Harry knew who would get it in the end. I'm pretty sure it was for his own amusement or possibly just to lull the other Seeker into a false sense of security, but Harry hung back a little for as long as possible as if the other Seeker was going to get it. Finally he did a reckless move and grabbed the Snitch.

I looked over at Ginny with a smile on my face but she looked pale. She glanced down at her ring and squeezed her eyes shut. A tear slipped out while Lily played with her hair. Ginny had expressed this concern to me before. Harry found it fun to do tricks that were quite dangerous. It's gotten to the point where those tricks could very well turn into harmful accidents. She's never told him but she's told me. Yesterday she called me on my M-phone, crying and saying that she woke up for a nightmare where she was walking down the aisle. For some reason she had Lily with her but when they got to the end Harry wasn't there. At this point in the dream she was informed that Harry had been in a very serious accident and he wasn't coming back ever. I didn't have to help her decipher the dream. She knew what it meant. She was afraid that one of these times, Harry would be seriously hurt and he would leave Ginny and Lily behind.

"Look, he's fine." I said to her, gesturing to the pitch where Harry and his teammates were cheering while that Cannons sulked.

"I know." Ginny said. She nodded and took a deep breath before opening her eyes. "But there's always that what if moment." She hoisted Lily higher in her arms. "Did you hear that My Little Lily Flower?" Ginny asked Lily as she took another deep breath to control her emotions. "Daddy won again."

"Aieya?" Lily asked.

"Yes. He won." Ginny said. She smiled at Lily. "Daddy is a very good Quidditch player. We knew he would win." I offered Ginny a kind smile and she smiled back. "Time to go play the Fiancée of the Seeker role." She said. She and Lily left the VIP box.

"Is Ginny ok?" Ron wondered. The Cannons were entering the VIP box at the moment and I knew he was eager to go but first he had to make sure his sister was ok.

"She's fine." I assured him. "The stunt Harry pulled at the end kind of freaked her out."

"I know." Ron said. His face got extremely serious. "I've tried to talk to him about it but he thinks it's all for sport. One of these days, he's not going to be so lucky." The fact that Ron thought Harry's tricks were a little extreme scared me. It must have shown in my face because Ron pulled me to him and Willa. "He knows what he's doing." He whispered in my ear. He kissed my forehead and smiled.

"Go meet the Cannons." I said. Ron's smile got even brighter and he pulled out a few pictures of the Cannons for them to sign for our friends back home.

"Come on, Wil. Let's go meet the players." Ron said. I chuckled and fell back into my seat. I was the only one still sitting; everyone else was talking to the Cannons. I turned my attention to the middle of the field where Harry was being interviewed. I noticed Hannah Abbot's replacement reporter from the Gazette, as well as the sports reporter from WTV. Harry was smiling and sweating. He held Lily in his arms while Ginny stood by his side, holding onto his hand with a smile as well. Other players of the Falcons were being interviewed and their significant other stood by their side. However, none of their smiles looked forced like Ginny's did.

Then again…none of their husbands, wives, fiancées, girlfriends, or boyfriends had done a stupid stunt during the game.

There was a post-game party at Harry and Ginny's for everyone in the VIP box. Willa went down for a nap in Lily's room while the rest of us sat in the living room, talking about the match. Harry was the only one not apart of the conversation. He was talking to Molly and Arthur on his M-phone. They'd seen the match on their new WTV.

I sat in a chair, going through my palm pilot. I had a busy week ahead of me. Willa had a doctor's appointment, I had a doctor's appointment, I promised Jenna I would help out at _The Book Loft_ on Tuesday, Sasha was coming up on Wednesday for a shopping day in L.A. and Graye was coming along, I had Yoga (a new relaxation technique I picked up; I had classes every Thursday), and then Willa, Ron, and I had our usual Thursday night dinners with Becki, Paul, and Anna at the ShoreHouse.

Ron took my palm pilot from me and stuck it in his pocket.

"The point of weekends are to distress from the week." he said. I shrugged innocently and leaned in to kiss him.

"Look. A replay of the match!" Trey said. He had been flicking through the channels with his wand. Harry sat down on the couch next to Ginny and Lily to watch himself go for the Snitch. I was not the only one to notice Ginny's expression tighten as she watched Harry do that reckless stunt again. Harry put an arm around her.

"I'm fine." he said. He kissed the top of her head. "Really, it's all for fun." He kissed her lips this time and she smiled a little. The words comforted her and would surely hold her off until the next match but what happened when he preformed a reckless act again?

Quidditch was a dangerous game…especially when Harry tried something stupid. The one thing that I've managed to figure out, having to do with Quidditch, was why Harry did the reckless stunts. I was almost convinced that he only did it because he found it thrilling and had gotten to the point where he was sure that nothing would happen to him.

I still had no clue why Ron was so serious about the game or why people found it remotely interesting but from the look on Willa's face during the match, I was positive that she was going to be just like her daddy: a diehard Cannons fan.

**Ok here are the names of all of the furture children in the story...let me know what you think!!!**

**Ron and Hermione: Willa Elizabeth (we already know this); Nolan Xavier (Nolan means noble and outstanding. Ron picks the name because he thinks it's the perfect Gryffindor name); Austin Dylan; and October Rose (thank you OliviaElliotfan4ever for letting me use the name of her daughter for Ron and Hermione's second daughter!)**

**Harry and Ginny: Lily-Lyn (we know this); Emmaline Faye (more commonly referred to as Emma); James Sirius; Dane Harry and Liam Remus (Dane and Liam are twins)**

**Fred and Angelina: Gabriel Fredrick; Jennica Angelina; Henry George and Tyler Ronald (Henry and Tyler are twins)**

**George and Alicia: Amber Alexandra and Autumn Anne (twins); Lana Marie; Daniel Andrew and Donald Mitchel (twins)**

**Percy and Penelope: Gregory Phillip (we know this); Delaney Agnes; Sophia Hazel**

**Charlie and Alison: Maxwell Charles (we know this); Bennett Gideon; Kaleb Fabian; Antonia Alison**

**Bill and Fleur: Alexis Arthur and Cecilia Molly (twins...we know this); Damon Luc**

**Tonks and Lupin: Penelope Nymphadora (we know...); Felicity Andromeda; Tabbitha Tonks (Tonks is her middle name)**

**Sasha and Trey: Viola Katherine; Grier Riley; Trey Michael jr. **

**Neville and Luna: Phineas Xenophilius (we know...); Obadiah Frank (Obie); Roman Neville; Leonardo Luno (Leo); Tallulah Alice (not your normal names...but I wanted to pick somthing slightly different for Neville and Luna's children)**

**Draco and Pansy: Ella Lucinda; Tristan Draco Lucious; Gemma Narcissa; Ava Pansy.**

**Seamus and Lavender: Lilac; Sean**

**Dean and Parvati: Maddox; Saffron; Rhiahnon**

**Zacharis and Susan: Elijah; Evan; Emmett**

**Hannah and Ernie: Samuel**

**Ok, that's all I have planned and I think I've pretty much covered everything. Let me know what you think!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**


	12. Wedding Bliss

**a/n: Hi! Thanks to all of the reviewers and I'm glad that people said they liked the names!! I just finished fourteen five minutes ago so after I put this up I'll start on fifteen! If I get enough reviews I'll update tomorrow!!!!**

**School starts next Tuesday (senior year - woo!!..sorry, it's out of my system!) so I want to try to get as many chapters as possible done and then I'll work out an updating schedule! **

**Always,  
Kylie**

**PS: If anyone wanted to see the dress...I kind of modeled it after Eva Longoria's. I was watching E and saw that she had her wedding in Paris...so if you look it up they have a sketch of the dress and that's what I modled Ginny's after. **

_Now join hands, and with your hands your hearts. –William Shakespeare _

I loved weddings! Crying, laughing, dancing… My own wedding remained my favorite but any other wedding was still fair game for second.

Ginny had this extravagant wedding planned for her and Harry. It was her fairytale dream wedding but underneath all of the beautiful dresses, elaborate cake, and pretty flowers, she knew the real point in getting married. Ginny was making a commitment to spend the rest of her life with the person that makes her the happiest, the man she was destined to love for the rest of her life, the father of her child. Ginny was making the commitment to love Harry in sickness and in health…till death do they part. She was getting married!

The wedding schedule went like this: Friday night- his and her bachelor party for close friends and siblings; Saturday morning- preparations for the wedding; Saturday afternoon- wedding ceremony; Saturday evening- reception; Saturday night- post wedding party in the Honeymoon Suite of a fancy Paris hotel; and Sunday morning- Goodbye breakfast as the newlyweds head off to their honeymoon in Aruba.

Friday I dressed in a strapless dress that was an interesting green color. I left my hair down and wore a pair of silver heels. Ron wore a pair of jeans with a white button up shirt and a black sports coat. Willa was dressed in a light purple onesie for her sleepover with her cousins. Her bag was all packed and I knew she was going to have fun. Every Sunday when we visited the Burrow Willa crawled around with her cousins, eager to join in on the fun. She was going to have a blast tonight.

Once Ron and I had our things packed, we Apparated to Harry and Ginny's where Molly was waiting with most of the other children. I set Willa down and she was off! I think she was looking for Penny and Cecilia. She saw them waddling around and I think she wanted to too. She wanted to be like the big kids. It was actually quite adorable. Lily followed them too. She hadn't quite gotten the hang of crawling but she scooted forward on her bottom to get places.

"I'm getting married tomorrow!" Ginny announced, coming into the living room dressed in a gorgeous black dress with a tiny white polka dot design.

"What a coincidence. So am I." Harry said, he pulled Ginny into his arms and kissed her.

"Save some for the wedding!" Fred exclaimed. Ginny and Harry ignored them.

"Somebody throw something at them or we're never going to leave." George said. Harry and Ginny finally parted, smiling at each other.

Charlie and Alison showed up with Max completing the group that was going to the Bachelor party. There was Ginny, Harry, Sasha, Trey, Neville, Luna, Fred, Angelina, George, Alicia, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Alison, Percy, Penelope, Ron, and I. Tonks and Lupin were invited to join in but they declined, preferring to stay with Molly and Arthur and keep an eye on the children.

We set out for _Le Moloko,_ which was a trendy Paris club. Ginny had reserved a section of the club for the special occasion of the bachelor party. A round of drinks was ordered.

"To the bride and groom!" everyone chorused and lifted their glasses to Harry and Ginny. Ginny immediately led Harry to dance while Luna and Alicia sat down with their glasses of water in hand. Fred and Angelina joined Harry and Ginny on the dance floor along with Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Alison, Percy, and Penelope. None of them looked like they got out much since having children so I was glad they could enjoy this. Ron and George were talking with Trey and Neville as the four walked up to the bar to get more drinks for those not dancing. Sasha smiled as she placed down her untouched glass of beer.

"Can I tell you something?" Sasha asked. She was grinning ear to ear.

"I can't resist a good secret." I said. We sat away from everyone else. The loud techno music was beginning to give me a migraine. I took another sip from my own glass.

"I'm pregnant." she announced. I smiled.

"Oh, that's amazing Sash!" I reached over to hug her. "That's so great! I'm so happy for you!" Sasha nodded.

"I know. I'm so excited!" Sasha said smiling. "Trey and I agreed that we weren't going to say anything until after Harry and Ginny got back from their honeymoon but I wanted to tell someone."

"How does Trey feel about this?" I asked.

"We made the decision together, that we wanted children and it happened for us on our first try." she informed me with a big smile. "I've got a student teaching job lined up in the fall but I only signed on for one semester so for the second semester I'll put a hold on my career and take care of the baby." She patted her stomach. "I've watched you and Willa and Ginny and Lily…I just think it would be amazing to be a mom. I'm hoping for a girl but a Trey jr. wouldn't be bad either."

"Here you go my love." Ron said as he came back to the party section with a bottle of water in his hand.

"What are you ladies talking about?" Trey wondered. He sat down next to Sasha and put an arm around her. She took her bottle of water from Trey's hand.

"The wedding." we both said at the same time. We laughed and they looked at us strangely.

"To Harry and Ginny!" I said, holding my water up.

"To the Potters!" Sasha exclaimed. We tapped our bottles of water together and drank to the bride and groom.

"Come on, let's dance." I stood up and pulled Ron with me. He smiled and gave me a spin before we started towards the dance floor, leaving the three expecting couples to chat.

x

The next morning, I awoke in an unfamiliar room. It took me a second to realize that I was at Harry and Ginny's flat. Willa lay on the bed next to me, sleeping soundly. Lily slept in the next bed (the king sized bed that belonged to Harry and Ginny). And empty spot was next to her where her mother had slept. There were two other beds in the room besides the bed conjured for Willa and I and the bed where Lily slept. A very pregnant Luna slept in one bed while Sasha, who wasn't showing yet, slept in the other. Originally the idea had been to have sleeping bags but the floor just wasn't that comfortable (especially for the pregnant women).

Moments after I realized where I was, Ginny emerged from her closet with the biggest smile on her face.

"I'm getting married!" she whispered excitedly. I smiled back at her.

"Well, finally!" I said. She chuckled and sat down on the end of her bed, looking at her sleeping daughter.

"What do you think Harry's doing right now?" she questioned. "It's been so long since we've spent the night apart." Harry, Ron, Trey, and Neville spent the night at the hotel where most of the other guests were staying. The women of the bridal party as well as the mother of the bride had spent the night at the flat. Ginny's sister-in-laws and Tonks were coming to get ready here (once they woke up) while the men stayed at the hotel to get ready. The children were all asleep in Lily's room but Ginny and I figured we would take Willa and Lily into the big bedroom with us. They were the youngest and still on the scream-their-lungs-out-when-they-wake-up-to-get-your-attention stage. It wouldn't be pleasant if they woke the other five children up.

"Sleeping." I answered. I propped myself up against the pillows. "But I'm sure he's dreaming about you." Ginny smiled.

"My…baby…not…Nargle." Luna muttered in her sleep. Ginny and I looked at her sympathetically. Pregnancy dreams were the worst. I had the horrifying 'you'll be pregnant forever' dreams while Ginny had the 'my baby has two heads' dreams and now I guess Luna was having the 'my baby's a Nargle' dreams. Go figure.

"Are your feet cold yet?" I asked. Ginny shook her head.

"Am I _supposed_ to have cold feet?" she asked. She looked confused.

"I don't know." I said, honestly. "I woke up on my wedding day and felt like I was going to vomit. I remember Alicia freaking out at her wedding, and Angelina was a little sketchy the night before her wedding…"

"Maybe it's because we've done things backwards." Ginny decided. She watched her daughter as she breathed in and out, in and out… "We already play house like we are married. Maybe that's why it doesn't faze me as much that we're making it official." I nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so." I decided. "Or it's just the mark of a mature woman." Ginny smiled.

"Yes…and motherhood has helped with that maturity, tremendously." she said. Ginny's gaze turned back to Lily. "I guess I owe everything to that little girl there." She said. "She's our little surprise that turned out to be the greatest thing to happen to us."

The little miracle began to stir. She yawned and her eyes opened. Before she could start to cry, Ginny lifted her up.

"Good morning My Little Lily Flower." Ginny said. She kissed Lily's nose. "Mummy and Daddy are getting married today. I know we already are a family but after today, we can officially say we are the Potters." I chuckled and then Lily giggled. Ginny smiled at her daughter. "I am." she said softly to herself. "I'm getting married."

Sasha was awake next. She rolled over, yawned, and then said to Ginny, "You're getting married." She stretched out and sat up. "And I have to pee." Ginny and I laughed while Sasha hurried to the bathroom off of Ginny's room. The door to the hallway opened and Molly walked in, wearing a light blue dressing gown.

"My youngest baby is getting married today." she said. She was smiling but tears poured down her cheeks. "I can remember when you were Lily's age. Now you're getting married and you have your own daughter." Ginny stood up to hug her mother with Lily in her arms. I smiled at the touching moment. I saw the resemblance in Molly, Ginny, and Lily. Three generations that stood before me.

"Nargle!" Luna sat up in alarm. She was covered in sweat. It took her a moment to realize that she was not in her bed at home. "Good morning." she said with a yawn. The expression on her face let us know that she was still spooked by the dream. Molly smiled and kissed Ginny's forehead and Lily's before reaching her hand out for Luna's.

"Come with me, dear. I'll make you a cup of tea and you'll feel so much better." she said, smiling kindly at Luna. Luna smiled back and lifted herself out of bed. She placed a hand on her large belly and followed Molly out of the room. Ginny turned to me and her smile began to grow. I could see that she was going into Bride Mode now.

"Ok. We have to feed the children, mum will keep them entertained, and then I have a list of preparations that we have to do. The dresses are in the closet, Ron has the rings, I have my vows – can I practice them on you?" She turned to look at me.

"Of course." I said.

"Great!" Ginny exclaimed. She turned to Lily. "Let's go get you fed." she said. "And then mummy has a special dress for you to wear today." I smiled and lay back as Ginny walked out of the room with Lily. Willa was stirring next to me. I turned to her so I would be the first thing she saw when she awoke.

"Ahieyama?" Willa said after yawning. She seemed to be slightly confused in the unfamiliar room.

"We're going to a wedding today." I informed her. "Mummy is the Matron of Honor and you, little girly are the flower girl."

"Oooahh." Willa said. She was still looking around the room in confusion.

"Come on, let's go change and feed you and then you can play with your cousins some more." I said. I lifted Willa into my arms and began walking out of the room. I began humming the wedding march and Willa giggled before yawning again.

x

The next three hours were dedicated to preparations. Some women were painting nails while other's worked on hair and others were on make-up. Ginny sat in a chair with a mud mask on and a white robe while Fleur pinned her hair into the fancy up do Ginny had picked out. I was in the middle of painting my toenails while my hair sat in hot rollers. Sasha was having her make-up done by Angelina, and Luna was getting her hair rolled into hot rollers.

Eventually everyone was ready. I had my hair pinned up and a ton of make-up on my face while I held Willa who was fussing in my arms. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't crawl around in her dress. The photographer was setting up and was going to take pictures here before we all headed to the church.

Lex, Max, and Greg looked adorable running around in their little tuxes and Cecilia, Penny, Lily, and Willa looked beautiful in their dresses. Willa and Lily wore headbands while Cecilia and Penny hair their hair braided with flowers in it.

"I have something for you all." Ginny said. Ginny brought Lily to the bedroom and came back out with a small _Ginny Potter_ gift bag. She began handing each woman a small box.

I opened my box to discover a silver bracelet with a lily emblem.

"The lily means a lot to me. It's my daughter's name and it honors Harry's mother." She smiled and handed Willa a box. I helped Willa open hers. Ginny had her own lily bracelet on her wrist. "I wanted to share a lily with each of you because you all are important in my life and I'm really glad to be sharing this day with all of you." She grinned broadly at the women in front of her. We took turns hugging Ginny. "This is it." she said. Lily was in her arms and grabbing Ginny's face. "I am about to be Mrs. Ginerva Weasley Potter."

x

The music started. I turned to look back at Ginny. A smile was fixed on her face and I had a feeling it was not leaving any time soon. She kissed Lily's forehead and hurried back to her position.

Fred and George stood on either side of Molly who held Lily. The four of them started down the aisle, smiling at all two hundred guests on either side of them. Harry was standing at the front of the church smiling and dressed in a fancy black tux. Once they reached the end of the aisle, they took their seats in front.

Ron started down the aisle next. He wore the same tux as Harry's. In his arms he held Willa who watched in amazement and the flower petals flew from the basket she was holding, circled them, and then landed on the aisle. At the end of the aisle, Ron handed Willa to Molly and then took his place next to Harry.

Sasha and Trey began their walk down the aisle. They smiled at everyone and took their places farthest from the altar.

Neville and Luna followed them and then took their places in front of Sasha and Trey.

Finally it was my turn. I held a bouquet of flowers in my hand as I walked down the aisle. I smiled at all two hundred people. Some were snapping pictures while others were just smiling back. I reached the altar where I gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek before taking my place in front of Luna.

The music changed. Ginny and Arthur came into view. Ginny looked beautiful and happier than she could ever be. When she reached the end of the aisle, Arthur kissed her cheek and then left his daughter at the altar to get married. Ginny stood in front of Harry. They both smiled at each other and the ministry official began his speech.

Smiling, I looked around. The pews were filled with two hundred people; some looked familiar and some I didn't recognize. In the front few, the Weasley family sat, smiling as Ginny and Harry held hands. Willa was in the seat next to Molly. She was being restrained from getting out and crawling but she was occupied with playing with the petals. Lily sat next to her. She was curiously watching as her parents stood in front of the church, dressed even fancier than they usually were. I turned my gaze to Ron. He was smiling as he watched his little sister smiling at his best friend who would soon be her husband. I smiled at them as well and a tear slipped down my cheek. My two best friends were getting married!

"And Harry, your vows, if you will." the Ministry official finally said.

Harry cleared his throat and began. "Ginny, I love you. I couldn't imagine my life without you…which I why I don't. Gin, I want to grow old with you, I want to have more kids with you, and I want to love you day in and day out for the rest of our lives. I want to wake up every morning to my wife's smiling face. I want a marriage Gin, and I want it with you." She smiled while more tears fell. "I vow to give you whatever you want for the rest of our lives as long as I can have this." He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers. More tears fell. Of course they was rehearsed vows that took a lot of thought (with my help) but they were so sweet all together in the end.

"Ginerva, your vows please."

Ginny cleared the tears from her eyes and began reciting the vows that I heard this morning. "Harry, I love you. I always have. We have this amazing life together already and a family already in the works. I've been dreaming about this day for so long. It's always been you that I imagined standing in front of me. Now, it's here and I couldn't be happier. I love you Harry. You are the only person that can make me smile when I'm feeling awful, you've supported me in the business I started, and you're a wonderful father to Lily. I'm so glad to be here with you today, in front of friends and family, telling you how much I love you and that I vow to love you for the rest of our lives." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she smiled at Harry.

The ministry official began speaking again. Weddings… I was crying, Molly was crying, the three pregnant women were crying, and the bride herself was tearing up…

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." Ginny had waited for this moment forever. She tugged on Harry's shirt and pulled her to him. The guests erupted in applause and cheers. Harry and Ginny were finally married!

x

Picture taking took forever. There were so many different poses and shots… I was about ready to strangle the photographer if she told me to move a little to the left again. Finally we finished and I carried a very cranky, Willa into the castle the reception was being held in. Of course there was some waiting to do but at least we were inside and I could sit with Willa.

"Ahieah!" Willa exclaimed, furiously. She pounded her tiny fists against my chest.

"Calm down baby. We'll eat and dance a little then Grammy and Grandpa will take you back to the hotel and you can sleep." I carefully lowered Willa and myself onto a stair just inside where the rest of the Weasley family and bridal party were waiting. Willa continued to shake her fists at me and squirm in my arms while I attempted to put her sweater on.

"How are my two gorgeous girls?" Ron sat down on the stair next to Willa and me.

"Fussy." I responded. "That photographer kept telling her to keep still. Apparently she didn't get the memo that nine month old babies don't take orders well." I had succeeded in getting Willa's sweater on. Ron lifted her out of my arms and she squirmed in his arms.

"Look at my little munchkin." Ron said. He held her up. "You look so beautiful in your pretty dress." She just stared at him, not finding the flattery funny. "Tough crowd." Ron said. He set Willa in his lap and conjured a rattle for her to play with. Sasha and Trey joined us at the steps. Trey held a tired Lily in his arms.

"Where did the bride and groom go?" I questioned.

"They slipped off somewhere." Sasha responded. A coy smile on her face let me know where. "Most likely starting on baby number two." I laughed while Ron grimaced. Trey covered Lily's ears.

"Baby ears!" Trey exclaimed. "And keep the bad talk to a minimum. Our child's going to come out cursing if you're not careful." Sasha laughed and playfully batted Trey's arm.

"Your child?" Ron questioned. He was smiling as if he already figured it out.

"Shh!" Sasha exclaimed. "It's Ginny's day. We'll celebrate when all this is over." Sasha said. She rested her hands on her stomach. She was positively glowing.

"Eh, hem!" we all turned our attention to the top of the staircase where Harry stood, smiling brightly. "Please, put your hands together for my wife, Mrs. Ginny Potter!" Harry stepped aside and Ginny joined him at the top of the staircase. Her face was slightly flushed and her dress ruffled slightly but she looked like the happiest woman alive. The Weasley family and bridal party clapped as the newlyweds descended the staircase.

"I'm married!" she announced for what must have been the billionth time. Penny and Cecilia hurried forward as they last step that Ron, Willa, and I had abandoned.

"Aun-te Gin-ne!" Cecilia exclaimed. She was jumping up and down. "Mama says we have cake!"

"Cake!" Penny added. "When we have cake?" They were both jumping up and down.

"Cilley!" Fleur exclaimed. She hurried forward and took Cecilia's hand. "Mama said zat we would 'ave cake later."

"After dinner." Tonks added. She stepped forward and took Penny's hand.

"Yay cake!" Penny and Cecilia continued to jump for cake. Ginny knelt down so she was sort of level with them.

"I'll cut special pieces for the two prettiest two year olds." Ginny announced. Penny and Cecilia looked ecstatic.

"Me too!" Lex added from Bill's arms.

"And you too." Ginny said. She stood up, smiling. Harry wrapped an arm around her and kissed her cheek. She leaned against him while Trey brought Lily to them. "I love life." she declared as she kissed her daughter's head. Absolute bliss…that was one of the side effects of getting married.

x

The reception was beautiful. The entire place was covered in lilies. There were many tables scattered neatly throughout the large reception area but an area sectioned off for dancing up front by the head table.

More pictures were taken as we all walked into the room and took our seats. Willa even had a special highchair in between Ron and I. Ginny and Harry came out, holding Lily. Once they reached the dance floor I took Lily from them and placed her in her own highchair while her parents danced their first dance as husband and wife.

Ron and I went out to dance for the next song. Other members of the bridal party joined us. After several songs we came back to the table to find Willa being fussy for Molly.

"Come on Munchkin, let's dance." Ron lifted her up and then took my hand, bringing the two of us out onto the dance floor.

When the food came we sat down and Willa was slightly less fussy. The children had their own corner of the dance floor. Lex, Cecilia, Penny, Max, and Greg moved around their corner, laughing hysterically when they found that the dance floor was slippery if they weren't wearing shoes. Willa and Lily joined them in their corner, either crawling or scooting along. Spending time with other children had put Willa into a better mood.

The meal came to an end and soon it would be time for speeches. Nervously I took out the note card where I had written my speech. Ron had his speech but he wasn't as nervous as I was. He sat with Willa in his arms as he listened for the cue for my speech.

Everyone turned their attention to me as I shakily stood up in my seat. The music was off and the room was silent except for Willa's noises.

"I searched for a quote for ages. I wanted to find the perfect one to depict what marriage really is. Rita Rudner said, 'I love being married. It's so great to find that special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.'" Everyone laughed as I hoped they would. The ice was broken and I felt slightly calmer.

"Harry and Ginny have been through a lot of ups and down these past couple years that they've been together…but they've overcome all of that. They have made it past each obstacle in their way and here they are today, finally married." I smiled at Harry who held Lily in his arms and Ginny who held his hand. "Harry and Ginny are an amazing couple who have made it through so much. They'll last forever. They love each other, they love Lily, and together they have the strength to get past any obstacle that gets in their way. I'm so happy for you guys."

I hugged Ginny, gave Harry a hug, and kissed Lily on the forehead. Ron got up to do his speech and I took Willa from his arms.

"I'm, er, not so good with words. I didn't even use the vows I wrote for my own wedding. Here it goes though." He looked down at his note card and began reading. "Harry is my best friend and Ginny is my little sister. At first I wasn't too happy with the thought of my sister dating anyone…let alone my best friend. Eventually I got used to the idea and realized that there was no one better suited for my little sister, than my best friend. He loves her and takes care of her. I know that she's in good hands when Harry's with her. Harry, I'm really glad you married my sister and Ginny, you picked a good one."

Ron got up to hug Harry, Ginny, and Lily. Ginny was smiling through tears and Harry looked touched from Ron's speech. I gave Ron's hand a squeeze as he sat down and the music started again. Ron gave me a kiss and looked at Willa whose head was resting against my shoulder. She was near sleep. Luckily it was time for cake. Ron held Lily while Harry and Ginny got ready to cut the large elaborate cake.

Finally both Willa and Lily were asleep; Lex, Cecilia, and Penny were on a sugar rush from the cake, running around; Max was still digging into his cake; and Greg who was not a big fan of sweets was tiredly resting in his mother's arms.

Molly and Arthur took the children to the hotel where they would be keeping an eye on them. The guests were clearing out so Ginny and Harry were saying their goodbyes. I rested in a chair with my head on Ron's shoulder. I was tired too but there was a lot more partying to do before I could actually sleep.

x

The party in Ginny and Harry's suite went on until the early hours of the morning. Luna, and Alicia ended up going back to their rooms early while Sasha seemed to have even more energy since she'd been pregnant. Everyone else stayed and enjoyed themselves while the wedding bliss went on.

The next morning we all awoke pretty early. There was a family breakfast at the hotel before Harry and Ginny left for their honeymoon. I dressed in a brown velour sweat suit and flip-flops while Ron dressed in a pair of shorts and a gray sweatshirt. Neither of us could stop yawning as we walked with Willa down to breakfast.

"Good morning!" Ginny said cheerfully when she saw us. She was dressed in a pretty yellow dress, looking happy. Harry was at her side wearing a very nice pair of jeans and nice button down shirt. Lily was wearing the same dress as her mother but in a smaller size.

"Morning." I said, yawning. Willa laughed and reached for my mouth. She mimicked my mouth movements.

"Coffee?" Ron asked referring to their happy smiles.

"Marriage." Ginny answered. Harry smiled at his wife.

"Are you excited for the honeymoon?" I asked.

"Yes." Ginny answered. I was curious as to whether the smile had left her face since yesterday. "I wish we didn't have to leave Lily but Mum is going to take care of her while we're gone. We'll be back in a few days, though." She turned to smile at Harry. He leaned down to kiss her. The wedding happiness was definitely not going away any time soon.

I cried, I laughed, I danced…and I've decided that my best friends' wedding was the second best wedding that I'd been to.

Harry and Ginny's wedding was a spectacular event. It was beautiful and touching. Everyone enjoyed themselves and most importantly Harry and Ginny enjoyed themselves. After everything…they were finally married!

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!**


	13. Love For A Baby

**a/n: Hi...sorry it's been so long. I had a little problem with writer's block and it was stressing me out... With fifteen I finished it, it's really short, and I'm really unhappy with it but I had to finish it. I'm working on sixteen now and so far I'm happy with that!! Please review and I'll try to update ASAP!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

**PS: A little further down, it mentions spinning class. Spinning, for those who don't know, is on excercise bikes. When I went to California I went to my Aunts spinning class and every year I voluntere for the SpinOddyssey for breast cancer (where they ride the bikes for six hours straight! It's really an incredible event)...just so everyone knows what spinning is.**

_A baby is born with a need to be loved – and never outgrows it. – Frank A. Clark_

I remember the awful feeling of fear when I was pregnant. I was absolutely terrified…but somewhere in me, I knew I could do this, which was why I didn't succumb to the unwanted help I was offered. I was determined to do this with Ron. We didn't need help with our child and we still don't. My almost ten-month-old baby is in good hands with two very capable, young parents who love her unconditionally.

It's incredible to watch her discover new things or overcome obstacles as she grows. It was amazing to watch her go from this tiny baby who couldn't hold her head up, to this little girl who moved around, exploring things and trying to figure them out. Willa was an inquisitive little child who was quickly growing before my eyes. Each time she succeeded in doing something I loved her even more.

The second Wednesday in August I sat on the floor in my living room with my back pressed up against the couch and my laptop resting in front of me. I was currently working on the second book in my series. I had until the end of September to finish the last five chapters. It was going to be released in December but there had to be time for editing as well.

Willa was crawling around the middle of the floor with her toys. WTV was on, playing a cartoon about wizard animals. Willa wasn't paying much attention to the WTV. She was focused on bringing all of her stuffed animals to one side of the room. For the past ten minutes I had been watching Willa gather her stuffed animals instead of working on my book. I chuckled quietly as I watched her try and bring Mimi with her other stuffed animals. Mimi refused to be pulled but she did join Willa with all her stuffed animals. Willa sat on her bottom in front of all her stuffed animals and watched them. Finally she chose Teddy and then brought him with her. She crawled over to me and then placed Teddy on the coffee table. It took her a minute but she pulled herself to standing in front of me and then handed Teddy to me.

"Ah ooo." She said.

"For me?" I asked, taking the teddy bear. "Why thank you!" I smiled at her but she had already turned her attention to the computer. She loved the fact that if you hit a key, something happened on the screen.

"Ah!" She exclaimed gleefully as an "M" appeared on the computer screen after she hit a key. She released the coffee table and fell back. Instead of crying like I expected, she hit her fists against the ground and then tried again to stand herself up. This time she wasn't even using the coffee table.

"Look at you girly, you're not even ten months old and you keep trying. Don't ever loose that determination. It's a good quality to have." I said to her. At that moment an alarm sounded from my purse on the counter. I stood up and kissed Willa's forehead before hurrying to my purse. The large white bag was full of things and it took me several minutes just to find my palm pilot.

_Lunch with Ron! _

This palm pilot as well as all of the other technology was a godsend. I've never been so organized in my life. I shut the alarm off and stuffed my palm pilot, M-phone, wand, and the pile of things I probably didn't need back into my purse. I turned back to Willa who was tapping away at the computer.

"Come on, girly. Time for lunch with Daddy." I said. I pulled a black sweater over my red top and slipped my feet into silver sandals. I straightened out my skirt before gathering Willa's things into her diaper bag. Finally I slipped her feet into tiny sandals and attempted to clean a stain off of her light blue dress. "Ok, time to go meet Daddy!" Willa smiled as I lifted her up and levitated our bags out of the door with us.

I set Willa into her car seat in my car and then started for San Diego. Normally, we would go to the ShoreHouse for lunch but since Ron had to get back to work right after we were meeting him in San Diego.

"Want to hear some music?" I asked Willa.

"Yayooo." Willa said. I smiled and turned the dial on the radio. First Time by Lifehouse echoed through the speakers. I started singing and in the back I could hear Willa Ahhhaahhhh-ing to the music.

"You love music, don't you?" I questioned. I turned my head slightly to see her still making sounds with the music and waving her hands. I laughed and then resumed singing the song with Willa.

We reached the restaurant where Ron was waiting for us at a table on the deck.

"Were you waiting long?" I questioned. I looked at my watch, afraid that we left the house later than we should have.

"Nope, I only just got here." Ron answered. He gave me a kiss. "Hi Munchkin." Ron said to Willa. He gave her a kiss and I placed her in the highchair next to us. The waiter came over and took our drink order.

"How's work?" I questioned as the waiter disappeared to go get my water and Ron's Diet Coke.

"Brilliant." Ron answered. "Jacques left for New York the day after the wedding so everyone comes to me with their questions. No one really did when Jacques was here because he was the one with all the instructions but now I'm the boss." He was smiling proudly.

"Ron, that's great." I said, smiling at him. Ron launched into a whole explanation on what happened at work. I loved listen to him talk about work like this.

For lunch, I ordered my usual Greek Salad and Ron ordered his Ahi (a fish that he discovered when we first moved here). Willa played with the spoons and cloth napkin we gave her.

"Aigega!" Willa said. She pulled the napkin over her head.

"Uh, oh. Where'd Willa go?" I asked. She loved this game.

"Aiyeya!" Willa exclaimed. She pulled the napkin from her head. Ron laughed as I feigned a look of surprise.

"There she is!" I exclaimed. She giggled happily while Ron took his own napkin and covered his face. "Oh no, where's Daddy?" I asked. Willa giggled and reached for the napkin.

"There he is!" I exclaimed. Willa giggled even louder and Ron leaned in to kiss her nose.

"Ron, our daughter is brilliant!" I informed him. "She's going to do something great. I'm not sure what it is yet, but she's a genius."

"Yeah, she is." Ron said. "She really is the smartest baby." he smiled at me. "Thank God she got your brains." I laughed while Willa giggled.

Eventually Ron had to get back to work. We left the restaurant together and he walked us to my car and placed Willa in her seat. Ron, being the gentleman he was, even opened the door for me.

"I'll be home at six and we can take a walk down to the beach to watch the sunset." Ron informed me as he knelt down to my window.

"Sounds great." I said. I tilted my head up and he kissed me.

"Love you." He said. He backed away from the car and waved as I responded and pulled out of the parking space.

"Say goodbye to Daddy!" I said to Willa. I waved to Ron.

"Aiyaya!" Willa called. Once we were away from the restaurant I turned up the music again and she noised along to the music. My palm pilot's alarm went off again.

_Spinning Class!_

Graye worked at a gym when she didn't have classes. I went to a spinning class with her once and decided to keep up with it. I signed up to take classes in the afternoon on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for an hour a day. Since Graye worked during the afternoons she usually kept an eye on Willa while I had class.

When Willa and I reached the gym, I grabbed my gym bag as well as her diaper bag. I lifted Willa's car seat and hurried inside. Graye was at the front desk. She smiled when she saw Willa.

"Hey!" She said. Graye had several younger siblings so she was excellent with babies and loved spending time with Willa. She took her keys from her bag and jingled them for Willa, whose face lit up. Willa reached for the keys and Graye handed them to her. "She loves those." Graye said. I smiled at Willa and kissed her forehead.

"Be good for Graye, I'll be back in an hour." I promised.

As the spinning class ended, I pulled on a sweater over my shorts and a t-shirt. I could really feel it in my legs after the Endurance class. My palm pilot went off again.

_Grocery Shopping!_

I smiled, satisfied with my organizational skills and threw my bag over my shoulder. I always felt great after exercising.

"See you Friday!" I waved at the instructor.

"Tell Willa I said hi!" Mina responded. I nodded and headed back to the front desk where Willa and Graye were waiting.

"Hermione, look at this!" Graye said when she saw me. Willa was in her arms. "Where are the keys Willa?" Graye asked. "Where did my keys go?" Willa seemed to respond to the word keys. She waved them in her hands.

"Aiyee. Eey!" Willa exclaimed. A smile spread across my face.

"Willa, that's wonderful!" I said. She recognized that she was getting a compliment so she repeated the act of shaking the keys.

"She's a bright one." Graye declared, handing Willa to me.

Most mothers think that their child is the smartest child. I loved saying that about my baby but she was not alone in developing quickly. There were other babies who could identify objects and try and figure things out. There was just something in watching my baby attempt to figure something out. It was amazing to see her work out how to stand on her own or figure out that if she covers her face I make a big deal about her disappearing. To Ron and me, she really was the smartest baby.

Willa and I stopped at Trader Joe's on the way home to get things for dinner. We got everything we needed for dinner and then headed home where Willa immediately began crawling around again.

As I unloaded all of the groceries, I flicked my wand at the television. I finally settled on the history channel where they were showing a documentary on famous wizards in history.

"Aieya!" Willa protested as Mimi ran through the invisible barrier while she was prevented from doing so. She made a noise at Mimi and turned around to crawl somewhere else.

I sat on the couch with the laptop while I waited for Willa to get tired and go down for her afternoon nap. Willa crawled over and pulled herself up with the couch. She stuck her hands out to be lifted up and didn't fall. I lifted her onto my lap.

"You are a smart one girly." I said. Willa smiled and shook her rattle. It wasn't long before she nodded off against my chest. I was tired as well and I leaned back, holding Willa and shut my eyes.

x

For the billionth time today, my palm pilot went off. Willa and I both woke up. She was screaming as I hurried to check it.

_Make Dinner!_

I sighed and shut off the alarm while Willa continued to scream in my ear. Before making dinner, I fed and changed Willa. When she was no longer upset, she began crawling around again.

I talked to her as I made dinner and she responded with her usual "Ahieah"'s. Ron came home, ecstatic from his day as boss and told me all about it while I put the finishing touches on dinner.

When we finished eating, Ron offered to clean up while I put Willa into a sweater so she wouldn't be cold during the walk to the beach.

During the walk to the beach, I depicted the events of my day to him. I saved the best part for last. Ron went nuts about our intelligent daughter who was going to end up being the most brilliant student at Hogwarts like her mummy.

As we reached the beach, I set out a blanket and sat down in Ron's arms while Willa began crawling around. We watched her inspect the toys we brought.

"Do you think she's growing up too fast?" Ron asked. I looked at Willa who was attempting to pull herself into a standing position with nothing to hold onto.

"Yes." I answered. "She's going to be one in a little less than three months." I held his hands in mine and leaned back against his chest. "Pretty soon she's going to want to be more independent and she won't need us at all." Willa fell over and giggled while Ron and I chuckled.

"But she'll always need us." Ron said. "We're her parents."

"What about when she grows up and gets married?" I protested. "I barely talk to my mum and only call my dad once a week to check up on him."

"That's different for two reasons." Ron said. "One: she's never getting married. Two: if on the off chance she does find a decent guy – and remember it's highly unlikely that I'll approve – Willa's not you and we're not your parents. It's a whole other situation with that. She's going to need us because we're the ones who will raise her into the wonderful witch she'll become. No one's going to love her like we love her. 'Mione, she'll always need her to love us." I gave Ron's hand a squeeze.

"You're right." I said quietly. I turned my head up towards his. Ron pressed his mouth against mine and smiled. I turned my attention back to Willa who was bringing a shovel over.

"Oooo!" She exclaimed. She crawled into my lap and handed the shovel to me.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked her. She stared at me. "This is a shovel." I explained and then demonstrated its purpose.

"Ahh!" Willa said, smiling. She reached for the shovel and then was off with it, to attempt to use it. I turned my head and smiled at Ron. He smiled back and kissed me before we both turned our attention to our growing daughter.

x

Sometime around the early hours of the morning I awoke to a noise. At first I thought it was Willa but then the grogginess lifted and I assumed it was my palm pilot letting me know that something I'd scheduled for two p.m. was actually happening at two a.m.

"Hermione, what could you possibly need to do at two in the morning?" Ron asked. He pulled his pillow over his head and groaned. I hurried to my purse where I dumped out the entire bag and found the source of the noise. It was not my palm pilot but my M-phone.

_Neville Calling…_

"Hello?" I asked tiredly into the phone. I lowered myself into a sitting position on the floor with my back against the wall.

"Luna's water broke!" Neville exclaimed. He sounded slightly terrified.

"Are you at St. Mungo's?" I asked, fully awake now.

"Not yet." Neville responded. "I don't know what to do!" He sounded frantic. "Luna's freaking out, and I'm freaking out…Hermione, I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. You have to help!"

"Ok, Neville listen to me. Take a deep breath and calm yourself down." I instructed. I heard Neville breathing on the other end of the line. I saw Ron sit up and look at me, confused. "Are you at your flat in London?" I asked.

"Yes. We've been here for a few days." Neville responded. His voice was shaking.

"Ok, good. Take a cab to St. Mungo's and we'll meet you there. Call Luna's dad and your Gran on the way there. I'll call everyone else, ok."

"Ok." Neville said, unsteadily.

"Neville, are you ok to do this?" I asked.

"Yes. I have to." Neville responded. "It's not like we can put this off any longer." I heard Luna in the background "Neville, what are we doing?" She asked. She sounded slightly frightened.

"Good. Now go and we'll meet you there." I instructed.

"Ok!" Neville said, slightly more confidently. He hung up the phone and I hurried into a standing position.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"Luna's in labor." I replied. "And Neville's freaking out. Go get Willa, we're going to meet them there." I hurried to the closet where I pulled out a pair of jeans and a white top. I pulled a gray sweater out of my section of the closet and then moved to Ron's where I grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Ron returned with a sleeping Willa. He attempted to get a sweater on her without waking her up. I began dialing numbers; I needed to let everyone who was friends with the couple, know that they were in labor.

Once we were all dressed, we Apparated to St. Mungo's where we got in line with a very cranky Willa. Eventually I got her to quiet down.

"Can I help you?" asked the receptionist. Unfortunately it was the same one I dealt with when I was having Willa.

"I'm looking for the Longbottoms." I said. "Luna's in labor and we're supposed to meet them here. Can you tell me what room she's in?" Unfortunately I think she recognized me too.

"Why don't you wait in line with all of the others here for the Longbottoms?" She asked, rudely pointing to a long line of people off to the side. Some of them had cameras around their necks and others didn't even looked like someone Neville and Luna knew. Most likely they were paparazzi who wanted to get the first shot of the famous baby Longbottom.

"No, you don't understand. We're good friends with the Longbottoms. They're expecting us." I said. She was not going to make this easy for me.

"Yes, well apparently every single one of them are good friends of the Longbottoms as well." She said. She was not going to make this easy.

"Ron? Hermione?" We turned to see a very worn-looking Neville standing there. Some of the people standing in line began taking pictures and asking Neville if he was a father yet. "They're ok." Neville said to the receptionist. I felt like sticking out my tongue and saying "I told you so!" but refrained.

Neville gave her a short list of people who would need to show ID but were friends or family. Neville led us past the reception area, to a private waiting room where Luna's father and Neville's grandmother were discussing their grandchild.

"Come on, Luna's been waiting for you two." Neville said. He brought us into a room where Luna lay in a bed. Her face looked slightly tearstained and her long blond hair was pulled back in a messy fashion.

"Hi." Luna said, meekly. "It's almost time." She said calmly.

"How are you?" I asked. "Feeling hostile at all?" Luna laughed and then winced, holding her stomach. A minute later she turned back to me.

"Not one bit." Luna said. "But I'm sure it'll come in the delivery room." I chuckled as I balanced my sleeping child and gave Luna's hand a squeeze.

"She's been really brave." Neville said. He lowered himself onto the bed next to her. "I can't believe I'm about to be a dad." Neville said. He smiled at Luna. "I'm going to have a son." His smile grew.

"Being a dad is amazing." Ron said to Neville. He looked happy to do his part in helping the process along. "When you see Phinny for the first time, your whole world will change and you'll feel something new."

"And holding your baby for the first time is incredible." We all turned to the door where Harry and Ginny entered. Harry smiled at Neville. "It's really something being a dad." He said. Neville smiled; it looked as if his spirits were lifted greatly.

"Aren't you supposed to be at practice?" Luna asked Harry. She had a smile on her face.

"I was." Harry responded. "But I left early because my friends were having a baby so I decided to come since they were there to support me when I had my child." A contraction came for Luna but she was still smiling.

"Sasha and Trey were in Paris but they're taking a Portkey and they'll be here soon." Ginny informed them. "They want to be here for you too."

"We're here too!" Again, we turned to the door where George and Alicia stood. Minutes later, Fred and Angelina followed them in.

"You'll be fine." Alicia said to Luna. Her own belly stuck out far with the twins she had inside. She was due in a little over three months. For most of their pregnancies they had been in it together, helping each other along with the changes and adapting to the idea of having children. Now Luna was finally giving birth.

"Ok, you can have the baby. We're here." Sasha joked, coming into the room. She was only two and a half months, not showing yet. Luna smiled as Sasha and Trey joined the crowd in the room. She rubbed her stomach and reached out a hand for Neville. They knew that their baby would be loved just as much as they were loved at that moment with all of these people here to support them while they had their child.

"Oh…OW!" Luna exclaimed, clutching her stomach. The Healer walked in at the moment.

"I'm sorry, but everyone is going to have to leave." He announced.

"Good luck!" I leaned down to hug Luna and I offered Neville a smile. The rest of the group did the same and we all trailed out to the waiting room.

George held Willa while Ron and I nodded off in our seats. I wasn't quite sure how long we waited but finally Neville came out of the delivery room smiling.

"He's perfect!" Neville announced. "Eight pounds and thirteen ounces of perfection!"

Everyone jumped up and hugged Neville. Mr. Lovegood was ecstatic and Mrs. Longbottom was beyond happy to have a great grandson. Neville went on to describe every one of Phinny's perfect fingers and toes. Ron smiled at him knowingly. There was nothing like being a parent and experiencing the first taste of that inexplicably satisfying love for your child.

x

Later on that afternoon (early morning in California) Ron, Willa, and I returned home after visiting with Phinny and his mum. Luna was extremely blissful and in love with her new baby. I was happy for her and promised that Willa and I would visit as soon as Luna and Phinny came home.

Unfortunately Willa was wide-awake while Ron and I were nearly falling asleep. She started crawling around the living room while Ron and I sank into the couch.

"Aieahoo!" She said, demanding our attention.

"We're here Munchkin." Ron said tiredly. I rested my head against his chest and his arms closed around me.

"We're just tired." I added so she could hear my voice. I turned my head slightly to watch Willa lift up Teddy again and bring herself to us. She placed Teddy on the coffee table and pulled herself to a standing position – not using the coffee table. Ron and I sat up in amazement Ron reached out a hand for her to hold onto so she wouldn't fall over. The most amazing thing happened next.

It was as if it were in slow motion. Willa lifted a foot and then set it down in front of her, unsteadily. She held onto Ron's hand with both of hers and then took another step forward.

"Oh, wow Willa." I said. These were her first steps…of course she had the help of Ron's hands to pull her along but still it was a development. She finally took a third step and then handed Teddy to Ron.

"Ah ooo!" she said before falling on her bum. My determined little girl lifted herself back up into a standing position and lifted her arms up for Ron. "Ah! Ah!" she exclaimed. Ron was smiling, absolutely bemused. He lifted her into his arms.

"Wil, you just walked!" Ron said to her. "I can't believe it. You are the smartest little girl in the world!" Willa smiled at Ron although she had no idea what he was saying. Ron turned to me smiling. "She really is growing up fast." he said. I nodded and looked at my baby girl.

"She is." I agreed.

Each time Willa grew and achieved something for the first time my heart tore in two. Part of me was extremely happy for my child while the other part wanted her to stay a child forever. She was now walking…and with the help of the coffee table she could very well walk away whenever she wanted to now. It scared me to think this but I was also comforted by the fact that no matter what, my baby would always need my love.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!**


	14. Burdens and Joys

**a/n: Hello again!!! Thank you everyone for the reviews and thank you Anna for this quote!!! **

**I want to put up fifteen and sixteen tomorrow. (Fifteen is really short and really bad so I want to put two up). School starts on Tuesday so I won't be updating until Friday or Saturday and then maybe on Labor Day I'll update again!!! I'm only on chapter seventeen right now but I'm hoping to be on nineteen by the time school starts. **

**Ok, one last thing. Willa's first birthday is coming up and of course it's a Halloween party with everyone _but_ Fred and George will have to add their own "sparkle" to the event so if anyone has an idea on a prank for that chapter let me know. I have somewhat of an idea of where I want to go with it but suggestions are always welcome!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for another. – Charles Dickens_

I feel blessed in my life to have friends and family to help me through difficult times…or to share the good times with. I remember the look on Luna's face as she saw everyone who came to be there for her when she was having her baby: the look that portrayed the feeling of being loved. If you're loved then there's always someone to get through tough times with; if you're loved then there's always someone to share the great times with.

"Ha!" I declared as the last word of my second book was typed. It was early afternoon on a Thursday, the first Thursday in September. I sat outside with Ron while Willa napped inside. Ron looked up from his copy of the Gazette.

"Finished?" He asked. A wily smile played at his lips. He'd been waiting for this moment for weeks.

"Yes–" I saved the document on the laptop and turned to smile at him. "–I am actually." I closed the laptop and put on my best seductive look. After I finished the first book I was extremely happy and Ron happened to be in the room at the moment. The second book would surely have the same effect…

He placed down his paper and we both stood up. I laughed ardently and grabbed his hand, before pulling him inside and upstairs to our bedroom where we would celebrate the fact that I had finished the book I had been working on for months.

x

A little later on Ron and I were sitting back outside. Ron was working on some papers for the Gazette and finishing off his lunch while I was working on homework from my class earlier this morning. Classes had recently started up again. (Only one more semester after this one until I would be student teaching!)

"So…when do you think the third will be finished?" Ron questioned. He looked up from his papers, still smiling from earlier.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked. I wasn't sure if he was implying something or trying to be seductive.

"Nothing." he assured me. "But you're always in the greatest mood once you finish your books." He was still smiling at me. I couldn't resist giving him a grin back.

"True." I agreed. "But I'm also in the greatest mood when I'm with you." I said…flattery always worked on Ron.

"As I am with you." Ron responded. He leaned over the table and pressed his lips against mine. I smiled into the kiss and felt the rush of emotions from earlier come back. At that moment the baby monitor, echoed Willa's sounds from the living room. "Willa's awake." Ron noted. He kissed me once again before pulling away.

"We'll finish this later." I assured him with a seductive wink. Ron smiled back and we both walked into the house to find Willa, standing in her playpen. In the past month Willa's mobile skills had developed greatly. She was now baby waddling around the house while Ron or I held her hands and helped her along. At the Healer's appointment last week, the Healer said that Willa was progressing well. She was in the top development group for her age.

"Mama's here." I said. I lifted Willa from her playpen and into my arms.

"Mama!" she exclaimed. It only took me a second to register that she actually said a word instead of her usual sounds. A smile spread across my face and I felt very happy.

"Yes, girly, I'm Mama." I said. She smiled at me.

"Mama!" she repeated. I turned to Ron who was looking absolutely amazed.

"Where's Mama?" Ron asked.

"Mama!" Willa said again with a very big smile on her face. Ron and I smiled back at her.

"Willa knows her Mama." Ron declared, smiling proudly.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed again. She smiled at me and reached for my necklace to play with.

"Yes baby, you know your Mama." I said, smiling.

"Mama!" my baby girl repeated.

"Hermione, she's talking!" Ron announced. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. She giggled heartily.

"Yes, she really is." Actually hearing Willa call me "Mama" for the first time was the greatest thing in the world. Each time she repeated it I felt slightly more like a mother. My little girl knew I was her Mama.

x

Classes had started up again and this semester I had a whole new schedule to fit into my life. My classes schedule looked like this:

Monday: one class in the morning; one class in the afternoon.

Tuesday: one class in the morning; one class in the early afternoon; and one class in late afternoon.

Thursday: one class early morning.

Friday: one class early afternoon; one class late afternoon.

Since going back to school, my schedule's shifted a little. Willa goes back to Gabby's daycare while I go to class. My palm pilot had been packed with all of the things I had to get done but this time around, Ron helps more with everything. This is how my schedule goes:

Monday: bring Willa to daycare; go to class; library to work on homework; second class; spinning class; pick up Willa; homework; Ron makes dinner.

Tuesday: Ron brings Willa to daycare; go to class; library for homework; go to class; library; class; pick Willa up; work on homework; Ron makes dinner.

Wednesday: no classes; spend time with Willa; get caught up on homework; spinning class; make dinner.

Thursday: Ron watches Willa; I go to class; either library or home to work on homework; I had yoga; dinner at the ShoreHouse with Becki, Paul, and Anna.

Friday: Ron brings Willa to daycare; early morning spinning class; go home to get ready; go to class; go to class; library; pick up Willa; make dinner.

After last semester's freak out I had learned something. I was not going to be overwhelmed with school and my at home duties. I had faith that with my new schedule, things would be easier…but I still enjoyed my Wednesdays where I didn't have many things to worry about except spending time with my daughter.

The Wednesday after I finished my book I decided to share the news with Jenna. I put a light sweater on Willa and then grabbed a sweater for myself before we headed to the car. Today Willa was wearing a red top under a denim overall dress. She sat in the back seat shouting the only word she could say. I wore a navy empire dress with a white sweater. I was smiling as I listened to my daughter repeat my name over and over again. Ron had been referring to himself as 'Dada' in the past week, hoping that she would say it. She was getting close.

Once we parked, I got out of the car and lifted Willa out of the car. I placed her into her stroller and hooked her diaper bag around the handle and slung my purse over my shoulder.

"Mama!" Willa shouted gleefully.

"Yes, that's right baby. Mama's here." I said. I smiled brightly.

Willa and I walked through San Clemente Souvenirs, said hello to Marv who owns the place, and made it to Sparks Street on the other side.

"Here we go baby. We're going to go to Jenna's bookstore and then we'll even get you a new book too." I said.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed. "Aieyaya!" Willa threw her rattle onto the ground. I stopped and bent down to pick up the rattle.

"No, no." I said, smiling at her. "Don't throw."

"Oh what a cutie pie!" someone from behind me exclaimed. I turned around to see a grandmother-type witch standing behind me. She was tall with gray hair and carried a few shopping bags.

"Yes, she is." I said, smiling. The woman smiled at Willa.

"How old is she?" She questioned.

"Almost eleven months old." I responded.

"Aw." the woman said. "How long have you been with her?" the woman asked. She was looking into Willa's stroller so she could not see the confused expression on my face.

"Sorry?" I replied.

"How long have you been her nanny?" The woman repeated. "My daughter is your age and she does the same thing. She lives in Anaheim, though. Watching a child is a really special job." She turned her gaze from Willa to me. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed again. She smiled at me and held her rattle out for me. I gave Willa a weak smile before taking the rattle.

"This is my daughter." I said. It got even more awkward. The woman's kind smile was replaced by a look of surprise. She looked from Willa to me.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed again. She held out her hand for the rattle and I handed it back to her.

"I'm sorry." the woman said. Her tone had taken on an icy quality and she no longer looked like the friendly grandmother-type anymore. "I just–" She didn't have to say anything. I knew exactly what she thought. I looked as if I were the same age as her daughter. To her, there was no way I could be mother to this child because I was so young. The only logical explanation seemed to be that I was Willa's nanny.

She forced a smile. "Have a wonderful day." she said. She hurried away from us.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed again. She held out her rattle for me.

"Thank you baby." I said. I took the rattle and resumed pushing the stroller. I couldn't even manage a smile. My spirits were crushed completely.

"Mama!" Willa demanded. "Mama!" She got my attention again and I handed the rattle back to her.

We made it into The Book Loft where Jenna stood behind the counter. She flashed us a smile while I settled down into a seat and pulled Willa into my lap. Jenna joined us.

"Why the long face?" Jenna questioned. She smiled at Willa and tickled her tummy. Willa giggled.

"Do you think that when people see Willa and I, they think that I'm her nanny?" I asked. I hugged Willa a little tighter, afraid of what the answer might be.

"Why?" Jenna wondered.

"I ran into this lady and she thought I was Willa's nanny." I said.

"Oh." Jenna replied. She looked at me for a moment, deciding how to handle this situation. "Well, it shouldn't matter what people think. You're not Willa's nanny. You're her successful mother who loves her very much."

"Yes…I suppose." This didn't help but I tried to pretend it did. Jenna saw through it.

"Listen, Hermione." Jenna started. She took one of my hands. "You are a great mom. The fact that you're almost twenty-one and you're raising a baby is amazing. You take care of another life. It doesn't matter what age you are." She smiled kindly at me. "Look at Willa and then tell me she hasn't been in capable hands since she was born. Tell me she's being raised by a mother who has no clue what she's doing." I looked down at Willa who was shaking her rattle around.

"I am a good mum." I said. I knew this; I've always known this but there were times when I got put off by other people's opinions. Ron claimed this to be my only flaw.

"Mama!" Willa called again. She smiled at me and puckered her lips. I smiled and leaned down to kiss her. I was still slightly discouraged from what the woman said and how she reacted once she found out that I was Willa's mother but Jenna brought a little optimism back into the picture.

"See." Jenna said with a bright smile. "You can't tell me that she's not being raise by two able parents…no matter how old they are." Jenna's attitude towards this helped but there was still the lingering worry about what people saw when they looked at me with a baby. They didn't see what Jenna saw; they saw a young girl with a baby.

x

Ron was home at his usual time. I knelt on the floor with Willa and guided her around the living room. Ron knelt down next to me and kissed my forehead.

"Dada's home." I announced.

"How was your day my love?" Ron asked. He smiled at me and captured Willa in his arms. She giggled.

"Fine." I answered. I leaned forward and planted a kiss on his lips. Willa puckered hers.

"Mama!" she called. I kissed her cheek and then stood up to check on dinner.

"Yours?" I questioned.

"Great." Ron answered. "Being the boss is awesome!" He stood up with Willa and brought her to the kitchen counter with him.

"That's wonderful, love." I said. I opened a cabinet and hid my head behind it. I didn't want Ron to know what happened today.

"So, anything happen today?" Ron asked, trying to sound casual. Curiously I peered around the cabinet and looked at Ron.

"Do you know something?" I asked. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Do you have something to tell me?" Ron countered. I turned back to the cabinet and grabbed the olive oil before shutting the cabinet and turning to the counter. I stared at him, waiting for him to back down.

Ron pulled a book from his briefcase, _Fairytales For The Little Wizard_.

"I stopped by Jenna's bookstore." he informed me. "I wanted to get a book for Willa.."

"…and Jenna told you what happened?" I asked. I felt a blush rise in my cheeks.

"Yeah." Ron replied.

"Oh." I said. I turned my attention to the oven and looked anywhere by Ron.

"Are you ok?" Ron questioned.

"Fine." I replied quickly. I removed the hot pan from the oven with my wand and placed it on top of the stove. Ron placed Willa in her highchair with the book and came around the counter.

"Hermione." he said. I stopped moving around the kitchen and looked at him. I moved closer and he enveloped me in an embrace.

"I don't know why what people say bothers me." I said. "Really, I know I'm a good mother...but you should have seen her face when I told her. It was awful."

"So just because some woman gives you a look because you have a child, that means that you have to doubt yourself?" Ron asked. He brushed a stray piece of hair from my face and kissed me. In the background of what was happening in front of me, I could hear Willa yammer on and on in baby talk while she tried to lift the book up to throw it. The vegetables were nearly ready and I had to take them off the stove soon.

"Sorry." I apologized.

"Don't be." Ron said. "Just never doubt yourself, Hermione. You're beautiful, brilliant, sexy, a wonderful mother, and I love you. Those are the things that matter, not some stranger's opinion."

There was something about the combination of Ron's comforting arms and his touching words that could always make me feel better. I cracked a smile and leaned up to kiss him.

"I love you." I said. He smiled back and pressed his forehead against mine.

"And I love you." He responded.

The sound of a book hitting the floor turned our attention to Willa who successfully managed to throw the book of fairytales.

"Dada!" she called. She lifted her arms up. "Ah! Ah!" The look on Ron's face was priceless. I suppose it mirrored how he said my face looked when she called me.

Ron hurried around the counter and lifted Willa out of her highchair.

"Dada's here Munchkin." Ron said. The smile on his face was huge. "Dada's here." he repeated. I smiled and joined them around the counter.

"Can you say 'Dada' again?" I asked her.

"Dada!" Willa exclaimed gleefully. She puckered her lips for a kiss from Ron. I turned to Ron, he was smiling at me. He kissed Willa's forehead and then mine.

Having people who will take time out of their day to make you feel better is an amazing thing. Jenna is a wonderful friend who was there to help when I needed comforting. Ron is the most incredible man in the world who knows me better than anyone. He's there to talk me out of feeling awful.

No matter the situation Ron was always there to lessen the burden of the bad times or to share the joys of the good. I was lucky to be married to the greatest man in the world.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!**


	15. The NonBirthday Birthday

**a/n: Ok, so here's my excuse for not updating yesterday (trust me, it's awful!) I went to go reread the chapter before I put it up like always so I put it on a disk from my computer to my dad's (the one with internet) and then when I started to reread it I discovered that the version I worked for days on was not here. After all the over coming writer's block and hard work I never saved it!!! So I had to start over and it's even shorter!!!**

**I apologize for this chapter in advance. It is AWFUL and it is really short. What I wanted to get across in this chapter is Hermione realizing that her birthday really is something to celebrate...it took me so long to get it out and then start it over; it's really bad. So I apologize!!!**

**I'll be putting chapter sixteen up when I get home from work around ten, ten-thirty, maybe eleven depending on how long it takes to reread. **

**School went, all right today. The first day back was difficult. There's construction going on so everything's crazy there and classes are everywhere! Aside from creative writing and journalism I got two awful electives that I didn't sign up for (Current Events and Geography) and my English teacher's crazy!! After going into this long (crazy) speech she asked who liked reading of course I'm the only senior in my school that does read so I feel like a looser raising my hand! Anyways after the long walk home because at seventeen I still don't have my license like I should I'm here to update!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_There are two great days in a person's life – the day we are born and the day we discover why. –William Barclay_

I'm never too pleased when September 19th rolls around each year…actually it's been more recently that I've decided I didn't like my birthday. It was never usually a special event – it just happened but as soon as I got into my twenties everyone was making a big deal out of it. Twenty was a big year, now twenty-one was a big year… What's next is everyone going to get excited for my twenty-second birthday? Is that a big year too?

Maybe I'm slightly bitter on the subject.

What I've come to learn in the past year and eight months is that age is just a number. Yes, I am a twenty-one year old mother but my almost one-year-old daughter has a roof over her head and two loving parents to take care of her – no matter how old we are. So my question is, why celebrate just a number? I guess it comes down to silly things like how long you've been alive and whether or not you're of legal age to buy alcohol in the states… Other than that I'd prefer just to skip that Saturday in September all together.

The morning of my birthday I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. Ron slept on his stomach next to me. One of his arms was draped over my stomach. I tried not to move so much, I didn't want to wake him up just yet.

I tried to sum up the positives about my birthday. Another year older, another year wiser…never mind. This wasn't going to work out. I sighed heavily and turned my gaze to Midnight who just walked in the room. She walked over to the door that led to the balcony and lay down in front of it where the sun was shining in. Cats didn't have to worry about age…hell they had nine lives and that's meant literally for cat's who posses a certain magical quality (which I'm sure Midnight did).

I felt Ron stirring next to me. He moved closer and kissed me. When he moved to pull away I knew what was coming.

"Hap-" I caught his lips in mine preventing him from saying it. Eventually it would get said but I didn't want to hear it yet. For now I wanted to pretend like it was just a normal day.

"You're in a good mood." Ron noted when we finally pulled away from the heated kissing. I smiled at him and wrapped my arms around him. "Happy birthday." he finally said. I rested my head against his chest.

"There. You said it. Now that's leave it at that." I hoped that he was not going to drag this out any longer.

"How does it feel to be twenty-one?" Unfortunately he was.

"The same." I replied with a sigh. He started to say something else but I rolled on top of him and met our lips again.

I finally shut him up.

A half hour later we were preparing for the day. I think we were going to Paris or they were coming here. Ron hadn't told me. I wasn't exactly in the mood for it either…everyone would want to celebrate my birthday and make a huge deal. I sucked it up and dressed in a jean skirt with a long-sleeved black sweater and black tights. I wasn't even going to pretend I cared about dressing up on my birthday. I sat on the bed to pull my Ugg boots on as Ron came into the room with a towel tied around his waist. He had a goofy smile on his face when he looked at me.

"You're in a good mood." I noted. I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Yes I am." Ron said. He bent down to kiss me. "I love waking up with you." he said. He went to the closet while I smiled at him. Minutes later he came back out dressed in a pair of jeans and white t-shirt. He pulled a navy blue sweater over his head. "I have something for you." Ron said.

"You do?" I asked. I tried to sound excited but it was a failed attempt. I stood up and walked over to the mirror where I tried to figure out what to do with my hair. Reflected in the mirror, I could see Ron wave his wand. A small box appeared and he levitated it to me. It was an unmistakable jewelry box. Ron smiled as he watched me open the box to reveal a ring. According to the box it was the 'Love United' ring.

"Ron, it's beautiful. Thank you." I turned around and kissed him. He smiled and took the box from my hand.

"The rose quartz is the stone of romance." Ron informed me as he slid the ring on my finger. I smiled at the rose quartz stone set in sterling silver on my finger. "You'll get the other stuff later but I wanted to give you this now."

"Thank you." I said. I stood on my tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"You ok?" Ron asked. He pushed back my hair and looked at me.

"Fine." I assured him. I turned around to see the mirror again. "I'm just not in the mood to celebrate my birthday."

"Why not 'Mione? It's your birthday. You have the whole day to do what you want!" He couldn't seem to fathom why someone wouldn't want to celebrate their birthday. He's told me this whenever I informed him that I didn't want to celebrate my birthday.

"You know that feeling that you're supposed to get on your birthday? You're excited and happy. Everything's about you." I questioned. I turned back around to face him. He was still looking at me in confusion.

"Of course." he responded.

"I haven't felt that at all today and I didn't feel it last year. I just am not in the mood to celebrate my birthday." I informed him. He watched me for a second. He didn't seem to know how to respond. Finally he pulled me close to him and kissed my forehead.

"Well then what do you want to do today?" he asked.

"I want us to go to the Farmer's Market and then walk to the beach and not even worry about my birthday. We'll leave our M-phones here and just go for the day."

"Ok." Ron agreed. His voice still sounded confused. "Whatever you want."

x

It took me an entire day to realize it. After hours of family time and forgetting that today was the day I turned twenty-one I was upstairs in Willa's room, putting my little girl to bed. An hour ago, the three of us had sung "Happy Birthday" and shared a cupcake. Ron knew I didn't want to make it a big deal but he still had more gifts for me. I received a Magictronics digital camera and a gift card to my favorite store. Lastly Willa had given me a gift. A silver locket engraved, '_Mione and Willa_ with a picture of the two of us inside. The look on Willa's face was the best when she saw my reaction over the necklace she handed me.

"Good night baby." I said. I kissed her forehead and pulled her quilt over her. Ron had run downstairs to go get Teddy.

"Ageia Mama." Willa replied tiredly. She lazily reached for the silver locket that was dangling in her view.

This was the moment that the "birthday feeling" swelled in my chest. I could envision several birthdays in the future where Willa gave me a handmade card and awaited my reaction. I also saw Ron's face as he anticipated me opening his gift. It hit me plain and simple like a bucket of ice water over my head: I needed to celebrate this day for Willa and Ron, the two people I cared about most. The fact that it was important to them made me realize that I needed to celebrate the day with them even if I wasn't necessarily feeling up to it (although the look on Willa's face did perk up my birthday mood slightly). It really was all too simple. All it took was a look on my daughter's face to realize this.

"Here Munchkin. Here's Teddy." Ron came into the room and placed Teddy in the crib. I smiled at him. He was a great guy who only wanted the best for me and only wanted me to enjoy my birthday. I watched him kiss Willa goodnight and then shut the lights out. My smile grew as Ron took my hand and led me out of the room where I will tell him what I realized after a day of avoiding my birthday,

Fact: you get older each year and that isn't going to change. No one can stop time.

Fact: you get wiser each year whether you like it or not; learning new things is a part of life, especially when you're a mother.

Fact: I had been trying to avoid my birthday all day until the expression on my daughter's tired little face showed me the light.

Birthdays came once each year. Willa's was coming up as well and I wanted to make this as special as possible for her, which was exactly what Ron and Willa wanted to do for me on my birthday. I think as I got into my twenties that idea that I was too old for a birthday or too busy for a birthday confused me slightly. Now I know. I've got to do this for Willa. After all, she's the reason that I'm here. I need to help her grow into the beautiful woman she will become which means that there are _at least _seventeen or eighteen more times that I'll have to do this for her. And I've decided that I don't mind. Bring on the twenty-second year; I'm ready for it!

**It's awful but review please and I'll update at eleven!!!!**


	16. Little Girls

**a/n: Thank you to all who reviewed!!! Ok, in this chapter there is a HUGE surprise that I wasn't quite sure about at first but I went for it! Let me know what you think!**

**Oh and one last thing. This girl I work with has a one-year-old and tonight she was talking about the words he knew...less than Willa knows now but I've decided it's ok because Wizard babies develop faster than muggle babies and as we know, Willa is one of the brightest babies. K, just had to say that!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_A little girl can be sweeter (and badder) oftener than anyone else in the world. She can jitter around, and stomp, and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves, yet just when you open your mouth she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes. A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot. –Alan Marshall Beck _

Having a little girl is one of the most special things in the world. In the past eleven months and two weeks she has grown into such an incredible "little woman". She's incredibly close to walking on her own, she can say three words (mama, dada, and no), she's been eating baby food, she had beautiful light brown hair growing on her perfect head (there's not much but it's there and it's beautiful), and it's the most adorable thing in the world to watch her play with her toys.

Willa means the world to Ron and I. We love watching her grow and we love watching her learn. She's the most precious gift and I'm sure any parent would feels the same way about their daughter.

"No! No! No!" Willa shook her fists in protest as the cat escaped her grasp. Mimi darted away from Willa in an effort not to be smothered in the pile of stuffed animals she was building. Willa found it fascinating to gather all of her stuffed animals together and then find other places throughout the living room for them. "Mama!" Willa yelled.

I sat at the dining room table, working on an essay for a class, due next Tuesday…until my attention shifted to Willa when she began shouting.

"Yes, girly?" I asked.

"No!" she shouted. She crawled to the barrier around the living room and pointed at the cat who had gotten away from her.

"Leave Mimi alone and play with your other stuffed animals." I said. "She'll come back later." Willa pouted and shouted out protests when I did nothing. I refrained from picking up the cat and bringing him to her. Ron and I had decided not to spoil her and constantly giving her what she wants fell into that category.

Luckily she got bored with the cat after a few minutes of protesting in baby gibberish and crawled back to her other stuffed animals. I smiled and turned back to my essay. Within a half hour I had successfully completed my essay and began to get ready for spinning class.

It was Friday morning meaning that Ron was supposed to take Willa to daycare while I went to spinning class and then actual class but Ginny and Lily were on their way over this morning. They were spending the weekend and would watch Willa while I was at my classes. Harry would be joining us tomorrow after his match. As I pulled a t-shirt on with my shorts I heard the sound of Apparating in the front hallway downstairs. I hurried back down the stairs with Willa in my arms. Ginny stood in the living room, smiling with a ten month Lily in her arms. Over the past few months she and Harry had accumulated their International Apparation Licenses so they could visit more often.

"Hi!" Ginny said. She was smiling a very toothy grin.

"Hi, I'm so glad you're here." I smiled back at Ginny as I placed Willa back on the floor in the living room. She took off crawling. Ginny placed Lily on the floor as well and followed me as I walked to the kitchen counter. "Here's a list of everything you'll need to know about anything." I said.

"It's laminated." Ginny noted.

"I know." I smiled proudly. Ginny laughed. For some reason she looked happy today, it seemed to be in her eyes or it could have quite possibly been a trick of the light. I looked at my watch and saw that I was cutting it close. "Ok, I've got spinning class, I'll be back before my regular classes, and then I'll be home for the entire weekend."

"You know, I admire you for doing that." Ginny said. She patted her flat stomach. "Maybe I'll get into that too…eventually…after." I laughed.

"Pace yourself." I said. She smiled. "Bye Wil, be good for Auntie Ginny. Bye Lily! Bye Gin!" I threw my gym bag over my shoulder and hurried for the door to my first stop of many today…

I didn't stop for the entire day. Even when I was sitting down in class, I was furiously taking notes on a lecture or answering questions asked. I didn't fully go into weekend relax mode until I got home. I levitated books inside and let them fall in a heap on the dinning room table. Ginny was in the kitchen while Willa and Lily played on the floor.

"Hi." I said to the room, sinking onto the couch tiredly.

"Hello." Ginny said brightly.

"What's for dinner?" I questioned. I was thankful that I didn't have to make it myself.

"I found a recipe just for you." Ginny announced. "No meat and some of the ingredients are organic." I chuckled softly as Willa crawled over to the couch. She pulled herself up to a standing position and attempted to climb on the couch.

"Mama!" she cried. I helped her up.

"Hi baby girl. Did you have fun with Auntie Ginny and Lily today?" I asked. Willa crawled into my lap and reached for the book she brought with her. I smiled at her and then turned to Ginny.

"Was she fussy at all today?" I asked Ginny.

"Only a little after her nap." Ginny replied. "But then again, I was too." I laughed.

"You took a nap?" I asked. Ginny shrugged.

"Yeah, I got tired." she said.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed. She opened the book and pointed to it. "Boo!" she said, unable to pronounce the 'k'.

"Mama's talking." I said to Willa. I held up a finger and turned back to Ginny. Willa pouted at me and shoved the small book in my face. I ignored it and continued to talk to Ginny.

"How long until Ron gets home?" Ginny asked. I looked at the clock on the wall.

"He should be here soon actually." I replied.

"Good. Dinner's almost ready." Ginny said. She still looked happy but somewhat pale as she cut up vegetables.

"Are you all right?" I asked.

"Fine." Ginny said. She forced a smile but didn't look well. Before I could say anything else about it, Ginny put down the knife. "I think I'm going to go lie down for a few minutes." she said suddenly.

"Of course, go ahead." I said. I stood up and put Willa on the couch. Ginny forced a smile and headed for the stairs. I watched her go, curiously.

"Mama!" Willa demanded. I turned around and lifted her from the couch.

"Mama has to finish make dinner. Willa is going to play with Lily." I gestured to Lily who was entertaining herself with the shape toys Willa never played with. I set her down and walked to the kitchen where I began to finish cutting the cucumber that Ginny left. I tossed it into the pasta salad Ginny was making and then added the organic dressing she had found in my refrigerator. I turned around to go put the dressing away when I found Willa behind me on her hands and knees. "Willa?" I questioned. She giggled when she saw my reaction to her finally escaping the barrier. I knelt down and lifted her up.

"Mama!" she exclaimed gleefully. I sighed and took out my wand. Carefully I guided dishes to the table for three and two babies before setting the bowl in the center of the table. Then I went to the bookshelf in the living room and grabbed the copy of Tonks' book for first time parents. I sat on the couch with Willa in my arms as I kept an eye on Lily who was occupied with the toys.

"Ok, girly, we're going to fix this barrier. You need to stay in the living room so Mama can see you." I informed her.

"Galahayei!" she exclaimed, pulling on the locket around my neck. I turned to the chapter on the invisible barrier. It gave the spell, the wand motion, and a reason for using it. At the bottom there was a note.

_As your child gets older she may eventually break through the barrier that is preventing her from going far. Try to strengthen the spell by saying it twice._

I would have to remember to give Tonks a call tomorrow and thank her for all of her help. I placed Willa down and repeated the spell twice. The four invisible walls that now blocked Willa from the stairs, kitchen, and dining room glowed blue before finally going invisible again. I watched as Willa crawled for the barrier but was prevented from leaving. This time it even prevented Mimi from leaving the living room as well. Willa began shouting out protests in the only word she knew.

"What's wrong?" I turned to see Ron come in from the garage. He placed his briefcase on the counter and came to kiss me.

"Willa escaped and now she can't get out again." I answered. I turned and kissed him.

"Dada!" Willa exclaimed. She crawled over to the spot in the living room where Ron and I were standing. Ron bent down and lifted her up.

"Hey Munchkin." Ron said. He kissed her forehead and she smiled. I went to pick Lily up who was making sounds. "Hi Lils." Ron said. He kissed Lily's forehead as well. Lily giggled but Willa did not take to kindly to her father giving attention to anyone but her at the moment.

"No!" she protested. Ron raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't like this new word she learned." Ron said. We brought both of the girls to the table where we situated them in their highchairs.

"Me either." I agreed. "But Tonks said Penny went through the same thing. We just can't give her what she wants. She has to learn that things don't always go her way." Ron looked over at Willa who was banging on her highchair tray.

"Whatever you say." he said to me. He kissed me once again. "Where's Ginny?"

"She wasn't feeling well." I answered. "Why don't you go wake her up and see if she's up for eating something? She's in our room."

"Sure." Ron kissed me again and then headed for the stairs. He came back downstairs with a yawning Ginny in tow.

"I'm not that hungry." Ginny said. She had a large sweater over her dress to keep her warm although it wasn't really cold. "I'm just going to feed Lily."

"Are you up for a movie later?" I asked her. "Ron picked up a movie."

"It's called _Stranger Than Magic_." Ron informed her. "It's about a wizard who lives in a muggle world. Someone at work said it was hilarious."

"Yeah sure." Ginny said. Despite how tired and unwell she looked, she still seemed to glow happily.

We all sat down to eat. I fed Willa who seemed slightly less fussy once she got some food in her. Ginny didn't eat. She wouldn't even look at the food on the table and whenever she would dip a spoon into the jar of baby food she would hold her breath so she wouldn't get a whiff of it.

Once dinner was over, Ron cleaned up while I sat on the couch with Willa and Lily to read them a book. Ginny ran off to the bathroom.

"What do you think is wrong with her?" Ron asked.

"And then they lived happily ever after. The end." I closed the book and Willa reached for it to look at the pictures. I handed it to her and joined Ron in the kitchen.

"I don't know." I said. "I was thinking she might have the flu but if she did then she wouldn't be around Lily to give it to her. She seemed fine this morning. Maybe she ate something bad?" I shrugged.

The bathroom door opened and a pale Ginny walked out. She smiled at us and then sat on the couch in between Willa and Lily.

"Boo!" Willa exclaimed. She handed the book to Ginny.

"Hermione, she's just like you." Ginny laughed. She opened the book. "Once upon a time…"

Ron and I exchanged confused looks. I turned back around and began straightening the living room up while Ron washed the dinner dishes and Ginny read to the girls.

As it got later Ginny called Harry so that he could say goodnight to Lily and Ron and I brought Willa upstairs to put her to bed. Once she was dressed in a pair of pajamas I placed her in her crib while Ron got a book to read to her.

"Ka!" Willa exclaimed, pointing to the picture of the cat in the book.

"Yes, that is a cat. Very good Munchkin." Ron said. Willa smiled and waited for Ron to continue reading again. "…and the cat learned to be nice to all of the other cats. The end."

"Mo! Mo!" which was Willa's way of asking for more.

"Time for bed." I said. I laid her down and covered her with a quilt.

"Mama!" she exclaimed. She puckered her lips for a kiss.

"Good night baby." I leaned down and kissed her forehead and then stepped back to let Ron say goodnight.

"Naaa!" she called as we shut the lights off and her magically enhanced glow-in-the-dark stars lit up. Ron lifted her music box and I grabbed the baby monitor.

"I can't believe she's going to be one in two weeks." I said as Ron left the door open a crack. "She's growing up so fast."

"Well, let's have another." Ron said. He and I looked at each other and both began laughing at his joke. Neither of us could handle another baby right now. Watching Willa grow up was enough for now.

Downstairs we found Ginny exiting the wandmade guest room, talking on her M-phone.

"Love you too." Ginny said with a yawn. "Mmmhmm. See you tomorrow. Bye." She shut her M-phone and tiredly fell into the chair, rubbing her temples. "Lily almost said Dada when she heard Harry's voice." Ginny said. She smiled at us. "It's incredible how close she is to actually speaking."

"They grow up too fast." Ron said. He patted Ginny's shoulder and went to put the movie in.

"I know." Ginny agreed. "I miss those times when she was just four months old and she smiled at me for the first time and when I could sit with her in my arms and she wouldn't squirm to get out." She smiled wistfully and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "I really do miss when she was little."

"Really?" I asked, disbelievingly. I liked the stage where Willa was now. She was transitioning from baby to toddler and learning more and more from me.

"I like that she's growing up but I miss her as a baby too." Ginny said. She saw the expression on my face and frowned. "Well, that's just my opinion." she said. I shrugged as Ron sat down on the couch next to me. He waved his wand. The lights dimmed and the movie began.

Ginny nodded off several times during the movie but I think it was Ron's obnoxious laughter that kept waking her up. Finally the movie ended. I suggested that Ginny head to bed while Ron was still laughing from the last scene in the movie.

"Night." Ginny said tiredly. The tired and sick, Mrs. Potter turned around with a yawn and headed to the guest bedroom where she would get some sleep.

"I'm tired too." I said, tugging on Ron's arm to get him upstairs. "There was a lot going on this week."

"And weekends are for relaxing." Ron said as he did often to remind me to put my palm pilot away for the weekend.

x

Several hours later, it may have been about three in the morning, I heard movement downstairs. I sat up in alarm.

"It's Ginny." Ron explained tiredly. He grabbed a pillow and pulled it over his head. I threw the covers off of myself and tiredly stood up. I pulled on a robe over my pajamas and trailed downstairs to see if Ginny was ok.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up." Ginny said. "I was just trying to make some tea."

"At three in the morning?" I asked curiously. I sat at the kitchen counter why Ginny poured water into a cup with a tea bag.

"It's noon in Paris." Ginny informed me.

"But you didn't get to sleep until midnight here." I protested.

"I was trying to make the tea that helps with getting sick. I was really sick." Ginny answered. "Tonks suggested it." Ginny winced as she took a sip of her tea.

"Oh, I remember that stuff." I grimaced, thinking about it. "That stuff is awful but it helps with morning sickness." I tiredly rubbed my forehead while Ginny smiled bashfully into her cup of awful tea. My brain did not function well at three in the morning.

"Yes, it does." she said. It took me a full minute to fully grasp the concept of what was going on here. When I did realize it I sat up straight and eyed Ginny carefully.

"Y – you – your tired and you were getting sick. You didn't eat dinner but when Ron had popcorn you wanted some and asked if we had any chocolate to go with it. And then you said that you missed having a baby around because Lily was growing up. Now you're up at three in the morning drinking tea so you don't get sick again – oh my God Gin!"

"Yes, I know." Ginny said. She was grinning ear to ear.

"But when? How? What does Harry say about all of this? Are you going to be able to handle this?" the questioned poured out of my mouth before I could think them over.

"I'm pregnant." Ginny said aloud. By the way she said it I could tell I was the first person she told. "I am five weeks along and I found out two days ago. I haven't told Harry yet because I wanted to talk to you first. I want to do things differently this time around. I'm going to handle this maturely."

"Ginny, you're nineteen, how are you going to raise two babies?" I asked her.

"I'll be twenty by the time he or she is born." Ginny informed me. "If it's a girl, she'll share a room with Lily and if it's a boy he'll have his own room. I'll stay home for the first three months like I did with Lily and then the nanny will watch both of my children while I work and Harry has practice." She seemed extremely calm about everything. I wasn't even the one pregnant but yet I was the one flipping out.

"Why haven't you told Harry?" I asked.

"It's another unplanned one." Ginny answered. "I'm really happy about this but I don't know how Harry will take it. I wanted to talk to you about how I should tell everyone. I was going to suggest we go for lunch today and then I would have told you but since we're here…"

"Most importantly you have to tell Harry." I said. I was still trying to wrap my head around this. "No matter how he reacts he has to know, you two have to go to see the Healer and figure out how the two of you will deal with this." Ginny nodded along with what I said. "Then what you have to do is go to the Burrow and tell your parents. They might be slightly disappointed but you already have one child and they know you're capable parents."

"Well, George is twenty-two and Mum was not too pleased when she found out he was having two babies. She thought it would be too overwhelming for them. Now she's on board but it took her a while." Ginny explained.

"She'll get over it." I assured Ginny. "We talked after I had Willa and she doesn't want to push her children away anymore. She wants to be there for them when they ask for help." Ginny nodded. I looked at her and saw that she looked deep in thought. "And you're ok with this?" Ginny looked up at me.

"Yeah." she said, smiling. "I was thinking about at the wedding, how I wanted more children. I feel slightly guilty now because I don't know if Harry is ready for another just yet and I am. I want this new baby and what if he doesn't." Ginny rubbed her stomach and drained the last of her tea. "I love being a mum and having a brand new baby was slightly overwhelming at first but I loved it and I'm going to love this new baby just as much as I love Lily." I smiled at Ginny and had a flashback of when I found out that she was going to have Lily. She was scared and didn't know if she would be able to love her baby the right way. Now here she was, a great mum to one and about to be a great mum to another.

x

In the morning – actually a few hours later – I awoke again to Willa's cry.

"Mama!" she yelled. I opened the door to her room and she smiled when she saw me. "Mama!" she exclaimed gleefully.

"Good morning girly." I said. I smiled at her and lifted her into my arms. I lifted her up and brought her into my bedroom. Ron was lying there, awake, as he awaited for us to join him.

"Good morning Munchkin, good morning my love." Ron smiled at us as I lowered myself onto the bed. Willa squirmed out of my arms and crawled towards Ron.

"Dada!" she cried. She pulled herself up with Ron's shoulder and planted a kiss on his cheek before falling on the soft mattress. She giggled happily. Ron lifted her up and pulled her into his lap.

"Ron I have to tell you something." I started. Ginny asked me one favor earlier this morning and that was to tell Ron. I had agreed, knowing that she had a lot on her plate already with telling Harry today. "Please don't freak out."

"What is it?" Ron asked. He restrained Willa from squirming out of his arms and looked at me seriously

"Ok, well Uncle Ron." I began. "There's something growing inside of Ginny's uterus. And it's a baby. And in June it'll be here." Ron's mouth dropped open and Willa broke free from the restraint. I took her into my arms and looked at Ron wearily.

"T-that's why she was sick?" Ron asked. "She's p-pregnant again?"

"Yes Ron and she's really happy about it." I said. "You and I both know that she is a good mother and responsible person. It was unplanned and she's telling Harry today. Please be happy for her even if you aren't really pleased with it." Ron stared at me with his mouth open in shock. I pushed his bottom jaw upwards. "You're drooling honey."

"Does she have a plan on how she's going to raise two children, keep a business running in two different countries, and not be overwhelmed?" Ron asked.

"She has Harry." I replied.

"'Mione, I'm not saying that Harry isn't a good father, because he is. He makes time for his family and work but we've both seen how reckless he is on the Quidditch Pitch. How is Ginny going to handle that now that she's pregnant or what if he gets seriously hurt?" Ron asked. This seemed to be everyone's concern. It had sprung to my mind when I first found out and Ginny briefly mentioned it.

"Ron, this isn't our problem. It has to do with Harry, Ginny, and Lily. All I'm asking you to do is be happy for your sister because she's happy." I said, but the worries he just expressed really scared me too. I was having difficulty keeping my mouth shut about them. I didn't want to say anything to upset Ginny.

"Of course I'll be happy for her." Ron said. "She's my sister I'm not going to upset her but I'm worried for her too."

"So am I." I informed him. I offered him a smiled and he took my hand.

As we walked downstairs we found Ginny in the kitchen, making breakfast. Lily was crawling around the living room, shouting out baby gibberish.

"Something smells good." Ron noted as he placed Willa on the floor with Lily.

"Well, I'm starving so I couldn't wait for you to come make breakfast." she said, smiling still. She looked at me as if to question whether or not I told him. Ron answered before I could.

"Congratulations Gin. I'm really happy for you." Ron hugged Ginny and she smiled even bigger.

"Thank you Ron. It means a lot that you're on board with this." Ginny said. I smiled at their moment as the sound of Apparating occurred in the hallway. Harry walked into the living room with a smile on his face.

"We won!" he announced.

"Congratulations!" Ginny exclaimed. She hurried to give him a hug and a kiss. As they pulled away Ginny's expression turned serious. "Harry, I need to talk to you." she said. Ron and I moved to the stairs. He grabbed Willa and I grabbed Lily.

"We'll just be upstairs." I said. I smiled and walked upstairs with Ron. We brought the babies in our room and let them crawl around with Midnight while we attempted to listen at the door. Unfortunately we couldn't hear much. "Do you have Extendable Ears?" I questioned. Ron gave me a look.

"Really Hermione, I'm twenty-years-old. I think I'm a little too mature for that." Ron said. I turned the look on him. "Ok, they're down stairs." he admitted. I couldn't help but laugh a little. We turned to go watch Willa and Lily crawl around.

The best thing about Willa having so many cousins is that she's already been learning to share and play with other children. When Willa could crawl and Lily was still learning, Willa learned that she was older than Lily. She liked taking charge and leading Lily around the room.

"Ka!" she exclaimed, pointing at the cat. Lily noised back in response. Ron and I watched the two beautiful little girls play for a while until Midnight finally got tired of the girls patting her face and jumped on the bed.

"Ah! Ah!" Willa called for me to pick her up.

"Ah!" Lily called for Ron to pick her up. We picked the girls and instead of leaving them on the bed where they could further piss off the cat, we brought them outside on the small balcony.

"You see that." Ron said to Willa and Lily. "That's the Pacific Ocean."

"Cean!" Willa exclaimed. It was her way of pronouncing ocean.

"Yes, that's right." I said, smiling at my brilliant little girl. "Ocean."

"Cean!" she repeated again. Ron turned towards the door as Harry and Ginny entered our bedroom.

"Dada!" Lily exclaimed, reaching forward. Harry hurried forward and joined us on the balcony.

"Did she just say–"

"Dada!" Lily repeated. She grabbed onto Harry's nose. Harry's face lit up with a smile and Ginny joined us on the balcony that was way too overcrowded now.

"Lily, you said your first word!" Ginny exclaimed.

"No! Dada!" Willa protested. She pointed at Ron and poked him in the eye. Ginny, Harry, and I laughed. After a moment Ron chuckled too. We both looked at Harry and Ginny.

"We're having another baby." Harry said. The smile on his face said it all. "I'm going to be a dad again and Lily's going to have a little sister or a little brother to play with. I always hated the fact when I was young that I didn't have any brothers or sisters now Lily's going to always have someone to play with."

"Congratulations!" Ron and I said yet again.

"Ogralans." Willa said, trying to sound out the word. I laughed and kissed my daughter on her cheek.

She may demand attention all the time when we can't always give it to her…

She may throw fits when something doesn't go the way she wanted it to…

She may do things (like break out of the barrier) that we don't want her to do…

No matter what Willa does her little smile always seems to turn it around. She was the most beautiful little girl who would eventually learn patience, calm reactions, and rules. My little girl was the most precious gift in my world. For now she would remain our only precious gift but Harry and Ginny seemed happy to accept another precious gift into their lives.

**REVIEW PLEASE!! -if I get enough I'll update Friday before I leave for Deleware for Labor Day weekend!!!**


	17. OneYearOld Flower Child

**a/n: ok, so this will be my last chapter until most likely next weekend. I still haven't started chapter eighteen but I'll get on it and hopefully be able to update next weekend. I'm leaving for Deleware in an hour but I wanted to put this up before then. Hopefully this will be ok until I update again! **

**Hope you like it!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_With caring and nurturing, a flower blooms into a thing of beauty all its own. With guidance and love, a daughter grows in strength and grace and becomes the special person only she can be. _

As my daughter turns a year old I've taken to writing things that I wanted her to know when she's older. I wrote a long letter detailing the plans I made for her first birthday, how much she's grown in the past year, and most importantly how much her daddy and I love her. I concluded the letter with something I always want Willa to remember.

_Always remember Willa, your life is a special gift…one that should be embraced and celebrated each and every day. You are one special little girl. Even as a one-year-old it is apparent that you are going to grow into an amazing woman. Hold you head high and stand tall. Follow your dreams and wherever they take you. Live, love, laugh, and cry but always remember I'm here for you whenever you need me… _

_Love,  
Mum_

I folded the four-page letter and stuffed it into an envelope to give to Willa on her seventeenth birthday. My little girl was not so little anymore. She was toddling around on her own, saying several words, and becoming an independent little woman.

It's not every day that my child turns one so the fact that she was turning one today made it a big deal. She had trouble sleeping the night before so as Ron decorated and I made treats and goody bags she continued to sleep.

"I can't believe she's already one." Ron said as he fixed fake spider webs to the wall using his wand.

"Remember last year? I was still in labor with her about now." I said. Ron laughed.

"This year, you're in a much better mood." he noted.

"Well, she's already out." I said. I smiled at the bowl of cupcake batter as tears started pouring. "She's getting so big."

"Hey, remember no crying today." Ron said. "This is Willa's birthday and we're going to enjoy it with her." He joined me at the counter and hugged me.

"I know." I wiped at my eyes and smiled at him as we heard footsteps on the stairs. I didn't have to look to see that it was Fred and George who had come early.

"Where is the birthday girl?" Fred asked. He was levitating a very large wrapped box with a bow.

"We've got presents!" George announced. He was carrying another large box. The two of them were already in their costumes. Their wives followed them downstairs, in costumes that matched their husbands.

The four of them were dressed as characters from a wizard cartoon called _The_ _Rockstones_ about wizard families living in the stone age **(a/n: think Flintstones!)**. Fred was Frank Rockstone. He stood barefoot in my living room wearing something that looked as if it were animal skin and he carried a bat. Angelina was Frank Rockstone's wife, Willow Rockstone. She wore a white dress and stone pearls around her neck. She too was barefoot. George and Alicia were the neighbors of the Rockstones; they were the Boulders. George was Bart Boulder, barefoot and dressed in an animal skin similar to Fred's except George's was tiger skin while Fred's was leopard skin. Alicia was Barb Boulder – a very pregnant version – she wore a blue dress and there was a bone through the bun in her hair.

"Hey, where are your costumes?" Alicia protested. She looked past the point of popping but she still had another month. "If I had to get all dressed up and no one else is, I am going to kill you George."

"We've got costumes but we're waiting until the birthday girl wakes up." I responded. "And you four have very nice costumes by the way." I added.

"Thanks, they were my idea." Angelina curtsied and surveyed the decorations.

"Ron, this decorating needs work." Fred said.

"Luckily we brought a few things." George said. They both took out bags and started unloading things on the coffee table.

"You do realize this is a party for a one-year-old, right?" Ron said. "And nothing you put up can be dangerous?"

"Relax, we've got that all under control." Fred said.

"Do you have a Magictronics stereo?" Angelina asked. "I burned a CD with Halloween sounds and songs." Ron led Angelina to the stereo while Alicia tiredly sunk onto the couch, rubbing her belly. Fred and George began conducting their wands around the room, putting up decoration after decoration. Within the next hour they were finished and were now watching cartoons on WTV.

The living room looked very Halloween-ish. There were orange and black streamers all over with spider webs (and fake spiders that Ron protested to). There were sparkling 'Happy Birthday' signs and little brooms flying around the ceiling while pumpkins floated throughout the room. Somewhere in this room was a prank of some sort that Fred and George had designed. I wasn't quite sure where it was but I'd find it. The furniture was covered in white sheets and the coffee table had a Halloween tablecloth. The snacks I put on the table were being demolished by Ron, Fred, George, and Alicia.

"Yeeba Deeba Dee!" Fred and George both exclaimed as the Rockstones came on.

"Shh, you'll wake Willa." I said.

"That's the point, we want to say hello to the birthday girl." George protested.

The door to the wandmade guestroom opened and Ginny walked out wrapped in a sweater and wearing pajama pants. Harry followed in his pajamas with a baby monitor in hand. They'd arrived in California yesterday.

"Are those your costumes?" Fred asked. Ginny tiredly crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shut the hell up or you're going to wake Lily up." she said. She sat at a seat at the counter while Harry took the seat next to her. Both looked tired.

"How're you feeling Gin?" Alicia asked Ginny. She turned her head to look at Ginny.

"Like hell." Ginny said as she took the cup of tea I placed in front of her. "You?"

"Completely awful." Alicia replied. "Good to know I'm not alone." Ginny nodded and raised her cup to Alicia.

"And it's very good to know everyone's in a good mood!" I said as I frosted cupcakes in orange and black. I used my wand to arrange spiders and pumpkins in white gel. Angelina was stirring up the batter for another batch.

"I will be once I stop feeling like I'm about to vomit." she winced as she drank her tea.

"Seven months." Harry informed her with a yawn. "In seven months we'll have a new baby."

"Bite me." Ginny retorted.

"This is a children's party." I reminded her.

"Sorry, 'Mione." Ginny said. "Harry…bite me." I couldn't help laugh along with everyone else.

"Mama! Mama!" From the counter Willa's baby monitor projected her voice through it. I smiled at Ron and dropped the frosting spoon.

"The birthday girl is awake." I announced. Ron and I hurried for the stairs. We went into Willa's room and found her standing in her crib.

"Hi-hi!" she exclaimed when she saw us.

"Hi Munchkin." Ron said. He lifted the birthday girl out of her crib and into his arms. "Happy Birthday." He kissed her forehead.

"Hi-hi!" she repeated.

"Do you know how old you are today Willa?" I asked. "You're one." I held up one finger for her.

"Wa!" Willa exclaimed. She smiled at me and held up one finger.

"Oh, Willa." I started to get teary-eyed again. "Remember when she first smiled?" I asked Ron. "She could barely hold her head up and now she's walking." I held my arms out for Willa and Ron placed her in my arms. "Happy birthday girly." Tears poured down my checks as I smiled at my grownup little girl. She reached for my face and tried to wipe away the tears.

"No." she said softly. I smiled at her and tried to stop crying.

"You're so beautiful baby and so grown up." I said to her.

"She is." Ron said. He put a hand on my shoulder. "And it's time for the big girl to get into her costume." I smiled. Ron had fought me on getting her a Quidditch costume but in the end I won when I bought matching costumes for the three of us. Willa was wearing a pink princess dress with a pretty silver crown that would magically float over her head. Once she was dressed she happily smiled.

"Ok, Uncle Fred and Uncle George have been dying to see you. Mummy and Daddy are going to get dressed in their costumes now." I informed her.

"Mama!" Willa exclaimed. She waved Teddy who was now wearing a crown as well. I smiled at her while Ron lifted the birthday girl up and brought her downstairs to say good morning to everyone. I went to the bedroom where my own costume lay out on the bed. I was the queen and Ron was the king. He decided that he didn't want to wear the funny pants that went with the costume so instead he was wearing jeans, the king's coat and the king's crown.

The king himself appeared in the doorway of the bedroom as I was zipping up the back of my dress.

"What do you think?" I questioned. I put the silver crown on top of my head and did a little twirl.

"I think I married the hottest queen there is." Ron declared. I giggled and turned back to the mirror to check my reflection as he began getting his costume on. "Are you ready for this party?" Ron asked as we were both dressed in our "royal" costumes. "Are you ready for Willa to be one?"

"No." I said with a sigh. "But I'll deal." I said. I smiled at Ron as he took my hand and led me downstairs.

Ron left to go pick up some of his family from the hotel. Bill, Fleur, Lex, Cecilia, Charlie, Alison, Max, Percy, Penelope, Greg, Tonks, Lupin, and Penny had been here since Thursday. They'd been staying at the hotel and enjoying their vacation that would last until next Thursday. (Ron and I offered to watch the children on Wednesday night for them all to go out and enjoy time as couples…I'm not sure if this was a completely sane idea.) Molly and Arthur would be arriving within the hour and the rest of the guests already lived in California and would show up by twelve. I had a list of games and fun things that the children would do when they got here. I wanted Willa to enjoy her first birthday.

Harry and Ginny disappeared into the guestroom to get into their costumes and get Lily up. Angelina had turned the music on and was dancing around with Willa. Fred and George were talking secretively while Alicia was watching one of those baby shows on WTV. I placed trays of food on the dinning room table. There cupcakes, cookies, brownies, chips, candy, and a whole lot more junk food that would surely lead to hyperactive children. At first I had been against all of the candy and sugar but Ron had eventually persuaded me to have candy at Willa's first birthday party, which was a Halloween party.

Harry and Ginny came out of their room with Lily in their arms. Lily was dressed as a little angel while her parents were dressed as a butterfly and wizard superhero from WTV. Ginny was wearing a purple dress with wings attached and glitter sparkling everywhere. I suspected that the costume might have only been a way for her to wear a nice dress before she started showing. Harry was wearing the blue Super Wizard costume with a red W emblem on the front. He even had the red cape.

As I set the last plate of Halloween candy on the table the door to the garage opened. Five screaming, happy children ran into the room all dressed for the occasion. Their parents followed as well, just as extravagantly dressed. Penny was dressed as a black cat in a black leotard with black tights and black shoes. She had whiskers painted on her face and a set of mouse ears on her head. For the occasion she had fixed her eyes to look like cats' eyes. Slightly creepy, slightly adorable. Lex was dressed like the Dalmatian that his parents had bought for Cecilia and he on their second birthday. He had the ears and white and black spotted face. He was also wearing the spotted outfit too along with a red dog collar. Cecilia was dressed as a fairy princess. She had on a pretty green dress with a flower crown in her hair. She had a pair of fairy wings attached to her back. Max was dressed as a little Falmouth Falcon. He even had a toy broom to go with his uniform. Greg's costume was definitely adorable and reflected his parents' a lot. He wore tiny business robes and held a tiny briefcase.

"Wow, you guys look great!" I said as they entered. I handed them each a small bag with pumpkins on it. "There's candy everywhere so take as much as you want and bring it all home."

"Tank you Auntie 'Mione." the children chorused. They ran into the living room where Willa and Angelina were dancing around.

"You guys want to learn a new dance?" Angelina asked them.

"Yeah, yeah!" they all jumped up and down screaming with their bags in their hands. Angelina laughed and used her wand to change the song. Fred was joining her with the children while George was trying to coax Alicia into dancing a little. He managed to convince her to come get a cupcake. Ginny was organizing the gifts while Ron and Harry stood with the other parents who were watching their children. There were footsteps on the stairs again. This time Molly and Arthur trailed down the stairs with a present for Willa in tow.

Molly and Arthur had even dressed up for the event. Molly was dressed in her witch clothing with the robes, hat, and wand out while Arthur was in his wizard's robes with the hat and all.

"Happy birthday!" Molly exclaimed. She made a beeline for Willa who was dancing to her own beat as the music went on.

"Aieyah!" Willa exclaimed in surprise. Molly and Arthur went nuts for Willa for the next five minutes. By the time they let her have fun with the other children, she was eager to dance and shake her bottom like the other children were doing. More footsteps were coming from the stairs. Sometimes I didn't like the fact that the only fireplace entrance was in the bedroom.

Sasha and Trey appeared at the bottom of the steps with a gift for Willa. They too were dressed outlandishly like the rest of us. Sasha was a four-month pregnant cowgirl and Trey was her cowboy.

I barely had time to say hello before the doorbell rang. I hurried to answer the door for Becki, Paul, and Anna. Both Becki and Anna were dressed as gypsies while Paul was dressed as a magician. Ginny gathered the gift while I introduced our California friends to everyone. Anna mingled quickly with the other children. Fred and George were attempting to organize a game of duck, duck goose with the children. She quickly joined in and since Willa knew her, everyone else had no problem accepting her.

"Hi-hi!" Willa said as Becki led Anna to the circle.

"Hi!" Anna said, smiling.

"Do you want to play, Anna?" George asked the small child.

"Yes!" Anna exclaimed. She fell into the circle and Fred stood in the center.

"This is Anna." Fred said to the children in a voice that I rarely ever heard him use. "Can we say hi to Anna?"

"Hi!" Lex, Cecilia, Penny, Max, and Greg said, smiling.

"Hi-hi!" Willa exclaimed again.

"I!" Lily said. Anna smiled at all of them.

"Hi!" she replied smiling.

"Ok, now is everyone ready to play the game?" George asked.

"Yeah!" the children replied. I smiled at the gleeful expression on my daughter's face as she smiled. I was sure that this was not going to go well, especially for Willa and Lily who would not sit still for long but as long as my baby was having fun on her first birthday.

The doorbell rang again. This time it was Neville and Luna with a two and a half month Phinny. Phinny was dressed as a pumpkin while his parents were hippies. It was actually funny and they looked good.

Soon Graye, Nick, Jenna and Nathan had joined our party dressed in costume as well. Ron had taken over trying to get everyone to color in pictures of pumpkins. The only person who was still working furiously on her pumpkin to design it nicely was Cecilia. All of the other children had given up. Ginny had the gifts organized and was talking with Becki; Harry was in conversation with Nathan; Jenna was talking to Fleur and Alicia; Sasha was talking to Graye; Trey was talking to Paul; Charlie was talking to Nick; and everyone else was in conversation with someone they already knew.

So far the party was a success. I couldn't wait to play the game I picked out to play with the children. Finally Ron had given up on trying to get them to color. Most of them were on a sugar high (except Willa, she was just hyper since she wasn't eating any of that junk and Lily wasn't either). Phinny slept in his mother's arms and Luna watched in amusement as the children played. I remember being in her position and picturing my daughter as a one-year-old. Here she was. She was not necessarily playing with the other children. She was doing things on her own but liked the fact that there were other children around and at her house.

"Ok, it's time to play Trick or Treat!" I announced. The children gathered around me. I lifted my little birthday girl into my arms and began explaining the game that was going to help me rid the house of sweets.

With help, the children managed to gather most of the candy. The trick was finding where it was hidden. They went crazy over trying to discover the obvious hidden locations. I could just imagine when Easter came around and we had an Easter egg hunt. So far most of the candy had been consumed but not by the children. Fred and George had several contests on who could shove the most M & M's in their mouth; Alicia, Sasha, and Ginny used the sugary sweets to satisfy their pregnancy cravings; and most of the other adults enjoyed the large bowl of candy that was out in the open where as much as possible could be taken.

Finally it was time for cake. I checked the candles to make sure they were not the exploding kind and lit the cake with my wand. I levitated it to the coffee table where Willa was standing with Ron. Sasha was snapping pictures right and left.

"…happy birthday to you…" the song ended and everyone clapped while Ron and I helped will blow out the single candle on her cake. The second the light from the candle was gone a loud popping noise occurred. Purple sparks shot in the air and exploded into a "1". Willa giggled happily as more sparks shot in the air. The room glowed purple as more shot off. The next thing we knew, everyone was transfixed with the two large boxes that Fred and George had purchased. They floated in the air in front of Willa and danced around her. The children watched in amazement while the adults looked to Fred and George who were watching the show with satisfied smiles on their faces. They both waved their wands and the boxes ripped open. A large stuffed gray cat came from one while a large stuffed orange bear came from another decked out in Chudley Cannon clothing. The two stuffed animals danced around the ceiling while fireworks continued to go off. Soon candy flew from the bowl and formed the pattern of Willa's name. It quickly changed and began weaving its way around the stuffed animals. Finally the fireworks were going on the grand finale. The stuffed animals were slowly lowering to the ground. They stopped on either side of Willa as the fireworks ended. To finish off the show the candy began lightly raining on top of everyone in the living room.

Everyone began clapping while Fred and George bowed before coming to hug Willa. Ron looked at me questioningly to see if I was angry. I glanced down at my daughter who was beaming at all of the attention she was getting today. She was clapping along with everyone else.

"Mo! Mo!" she shouted gleefully. I looked back up at Ron and smiled at me. He smiled back at me and I noticed his crown was crooked. Giggling, I straightened it and he leaned in to kiss me.

x

At a certain point all of the children crashed. Whether it be from just plain tiredness or coming off of the sugar high, they all seemed to drop one by one.

"Thank you for coming." I waved at the door where Jenna and Nathan were leaving. Willa was in my arms and nearly falling asleep on my shoulder.

Luna and Neville followed them and then Becki, Paul, and Anna left. I turned back to my house, which Molly was trying to straighten up. Arthur was watching a recap of the Cannons match with Ron and Trey; Sasha was sitting at the dining room table, flicking her wand around in attempt to clean up the rest of the junk food; George and Alicia were asleep on the couch; Tonks and Lupin were putting Penny down for a nap while the rest of the parents were doing the same; and Ginny was still discovering candy in hidden places in the living room. I began to carry my big girl upstairs to her room for a nap after a long, fun birthday with her friends and cousins.

"Well, you're actually one girly." I set her into her crib. She was no longer in her princess costume. My little one-year-old yawned back up at me.

"Mama." she said, tiredly, calling for her usual kiss. I smiled and kissed her cheek. "Dada." Willa said lazily. I turned to see Ron enter the room. He was carrying the large stuffed animals. He placed them down and went to give Willa a kiss.

"Night Munchkin." Ron said. Willa smiled and turned over before shutting her eyes and falling asleep. I felt and arm slip around my waist. I rested my head against his shoulder and we just stood there, watching our little girl as she slept.

Today she was one, tomorrow she would be a year and a day, a year from now she would be two – she was getting older whether we liked it or not. She was getting bigger, she was getting smarter, and she was getting more beautiful each and every day. She was growing and in sixteen years she would be here in her room, reading the letter I penned yesterday. The way things were going, the time could fly by and sixteen years could feel like tomorrow.

I know that for however long I have until my daughter is independent and no longer needs me for everything I will cherish these moments that I have with her. I'll remember the laughs we've shared and the day where she turned one. My little flower was blooming into a beautiful big girl flower.

REVIEW PLEASE!!!!


	18. Fighting

**a/n: Hey! So I'm updating Friday, as promised and will probably try and update in a week. I'm going to try and get on a weekly updating scheudule but I'm so busy this year that I'm not making any promises. I am however going to promise that I will update as soon as I finish a chapter only if I have over ten reviews. **

**So here we go with chapter eighteen (wow, we're almost in the twenties!!)! Enjoy!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Only Those who Know How to Fight, Know How to Love. –Andrew Schwartz _

From the age of eleven on, Ron and I constantly fought. It was fight after fight...after fight – and about silly little things. Harry often tells the stories of our fights to our friends who didn't know us during that stage. Sasha, Trey, Graye, Nick, Becki, and Paul all know about how we used to constanly bicker. Unfortunately marriage hasn't quite gotten rid of the little fights and neither has parenthood. Some things fade away with time and others don't…the fighting didn't. Of course it isn't apparent to those around us and we NEVER fight in front of Willa but despite the fact that we have the decency not to do this in public, doesn't mean that the petty little fights still weren't there. Often they were about something serious that we disagreed on but other times there were still the arguments about stupid things like our view on what Rod Ryans reported on WTV that morning. This was something that was likely to not go away but to be honest, even though I get so frustrated with him and can't stand him when we fight, I wouldn't want the fights to go away. I'd miss them if we didn't have our little arguments and I would definitely miss the making up part…although there are sometimes where I'm curious if there will ever be a fight we can't solve.

"Hermione, this is ridiculous!"

"No Ron, you're ridiculous! This wouldn't even be a problem if you hadn't made it into one!"

"Well next time you leave the country perhaps you'll consider dropping your husband a line and letting him know that his wife and his daughter won't be home when he gets there!"

"You were supposed to be at work! I wasn't expecting you home for another couple of hours and my phone was dead!"

"Your phone isn't the only phone in the world! It would have been smart to pick up another and call me even if you thought I was working!"

"Yes well maybe I didn't think I had to report my whereabouts to you every time I take a step!"

"Really, it didn't occur to you that I might like to know where my wife and daughter are? Imagine you're in my shoes Hermione; you come home from work as a surprise and find that no one's here and you won't answer your phone!"

"Sasha was having a crisis! I didn't think to leave you a note!"

"Since when is gaining weight because she's having a baby, a crisis?"

"Are you trying to tell me that just because you don't think this is a big deal that she should have just gotten over her problem so you could have been here to surprise me on a Wednesday where I would have probably been out with Willa anyways!?"

"No, all I'm saying is that I would have preferred not to run around like a mad person for an hour today trying to find you and Willa!"

"Well I don't agree Ron! I don't think I needed to tell you where I am at all times! What if you didn't come home to surprise me? I would have told you later and this would have never happened!"

"But I did! And I was worried sick for an entire hour because I had no idea where you were!"

Furiously, I snatched my purse and gym back that I dropped on the floor minutes ago when the argument began.

"I'm going to spinning class and then the grocery store to get something for dinner. _You_ can pick up Willa from Becki's at four and I'll be home shortly after." I informed him. He took a step back and turned away from me, angry from our fight. I myself walked out of the house and slammed the door loudly before walking to my car.

x

An hour and a half later I was on my way back home. The thing about being stubborn like Ron and I were, was that we were most likely both still pissed off about what happened and there was no definite time when someone would back down and apologize although I was certain it would not be me. I was furious that Ron thought I was at fault in this blameless situation and unfortunately there was a way around the entire argument…I knew it too but our stubborn sides reared their ugly heads, causing this big blowup.

I pulled into my parking spot at half past five. I magically guided the groceries into the house and placed them on the counter. I could see Ron playing with Willa on the small backyard slide that was a birthday gift.

I began making dinner, still dressed from spinning class. I wore a pair of black shorts and an International Gazette t-shirt with a black sweater. The sneakers on my feet had been replaced by flip-flops and my hair was haphazardly thrown into a messy bun.

Not long into the dinner making process, Ron came back in with Willa.

"Mama! Mama!" Willa exclaimed when she saw me.

"Hey girly!" I replied when I saw her. I placed the knife I'd been using to cut down and wiped my hands before lifting her out of _my husband's_ arms and kissed her.

"Dow! Dow!" Willa exclaimed. She still had a little trouble with her N's. I set her down on her feet and opened her cabinet for her. This is where she stored old pots and pans to bang around or organize by size. She loved to help out while I was in the kitchen.

"I'm going to shower and change before dinner." Ron said stiffly. The thing that annoyed me was that he seemed to be making a point of telling me where he was going.

"Fine." I replied just as stiffly. He looked back at me to see if I was going to say something else but I didn't respond. He gave up and stomped the rest of the way up the stairs.

CLANG!

I turned to look at Willa who was giggling as she hit two pots together. I laughed along with her before we both got back to work.

Twenty minutes later Willa and I both had completed our tasks. Willa had fitted each pot inside another and dinner was ready. I levitated it to the table and got Willa settled into her highchair. Ron continued to sit on the couch and watch television although it was blatantly obvious that dinner was ready. I ignored this and sat down next to Willa.

"Dada!" Willa called when she saw that he was not sitting at the table with us like always. "Dada!" Ron turned around and acted as if he was just noticing the set table for the first time.

"Oh, dinner's ready." he said with obvious sarcasm in his tone. "It was nice of _you_ to tell me, thanks Willa." He smiled at her and then sat down across from me.

"Take the hint next time." I said to him.

"Well I always tell you when to come to the table. I figured it would be nice if you did the same on the nights you cooked." Ron replied. I went to retort but bit my tongue when Willa reached for the spoon in the small bowl on her tray. I turned my attention to her as Ron began eating.

Dinner went on silently. Willa tried to make up for the fact that Mummy and Daddy were not speaking but her attempts were only met by halfhearted responses from Ron and I. She got fussy as she finished her dinner. She wanted to get down and play with Mimi before she went down before bed. When Ron and I finished eating, he began cleaning up like he always did on Wednesdays while I placed Willa in her barrier.

"Mama's going to go take a shower and then she'll come down and read to you, ok baby?" I wasn't going to give in. I knew exactly what Ron would say if I told him directly where I was going, "see was that hard? Couldn't you have done that earlier?" no, I was not going to give in.

I felt Ron staring at me as I walked up the stairs. I continued to ignore him. I showered and changed into a pair of pink lounge pants and a white tank top. I brushed my hair and headed back downstairs with pajamas for Willa. Ron was sitting on the couch watching a recap of the latest Cannons' match while Willa walked around the floor, gathering certain toys together. I watched as she placed her toy phone, the WTV remote, and a doll into her purse that was a birthday gift from Lily and then put it over her shoulder and start walking around with it. Even Ron noticed it. We were both watching her but avoiding looking at each other.

"Ok, time for Mummy's little girl to get her pajamas on." I informed her.

"No!" she exclaimed. I smiled and sat on the floor in front of her with her pajamas. She tried to be sneaky and take the pajamas and run but I wouldn't let her.

"Nice try little girl." I tickled her to the ground and started to get her pajamas on while she squirmed and giggled. I knew Ron was watching us and hoped that I was going to be getting an apology from him soon. "Ok, what movie do you want to watch before bed?" I brought her over to our stack of WDVD's. The bottom stack was the children's WDVD's while the top stack was the adult WDVD's. Willa stood there for a minute, pondering although she could not read. Finally she chose one at random: _Ivory Snow and the Seven Goblins_. It was a remake of the muggle classic: _Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. _

I set the WDVD up and sat on the opposite side of the couch with Willa in my lap. Halfway through the movie, Willa nodded off against my chest. I lifted her up and Ron turned his attention to Willa and I.

"Let's get you to bed little girl." I said to my sleeping child for Ron's benefit. He followed us up the stairs and gathered Teddy while I placed Willa into her crib. I kissed her forehead and stepped back while Ron pulled her quilt over her and laid Teddy next to her.

"Night Wil." he said softly. I walked out of the room and downstairs while Ron took care of shutting off her lights and turning the music box on.

Downstairs, I tried to find things to clean to keep myself busy until Ron came down. As I was putting the WDVD away, Ron came down. He stood at the bottom of the stairs and watched me for a moment.

"What?" I questioned.

"I was waiting for you to say something." Ron replied. "Something along the likes of an apology."

"You want an apology from me for going to Paris to help a friend?" I asked him incredulously.

"No, I want an apology because you realized I was right. We need to tell each other where we go." Ron replied. I raised my eyebrows and pushed past him. I hurried up the stairs and went to the linen closet where I pulled out a comforter and pillow.

"Keep warm. It gets cold down here at night." I said coldly to him as I dropped the comforter and pillow at the foot of the stairs. He looked at me in disbelief as I went back upstairs and shut the door to the bedroom.

I pulled my book out and flopped down on my bed to read it, trying not to think of Ron. This may not have been the first time we fought but it was the first time that he was sleeping on the couch because of it.

x

The next morning I got up and got ready for class. Ron and Willa were both still asleep so I left a note on the kitchen counter.

_Be home at four.  
Tell Willa I love her._

_-Hermione_

I originally had a longer version with more sarcasm but I stuck to the simple note.

I went to class and then went to the library with Graye. We spent a couple hours at the library before going to lunch. I refrained from telling her about my Ron problems because she had happy news – Nick finally proposed to her after four years. We chatted and then did a little shopping before I finally headed in the direction of home. Normally I would have been home with Ron and Willa all day but I needed my space for now and I'm sure he needed his.

I got home to find Ron and Willa outside. I joined them and Willa hurriedly waddled over to me.

"Mama!" she exclaimed gleefully. "Hi-hi Mama!"

"Hi baby!" I replied. I lifted her up and kissed her nose she giggled. Ron still seemed angry about sleeping on the couch – or not getting an apology. I wasn't sure which one.

I spent a little time with Willa before I left for yoga. Ron and I barely exchanged five words. The less we talked around Willa, the less we fought around her. I arrived back at the house only long enough to shower and change quickly before we drove to the ShoreHouse to meet Becki, Paul, and Anna for dinner.

After yoga I felt much more relaxed. Ron was still tense and angry though, we refused to talk to each other and if we did, it was mostly through Willa. If Becki and Paul noticed anything was up they didn't say anything. They seemed pleased with their own news that Becki got into the intern program at the hospital.

The next morning we still had not fixed our problem. After last night's exchanging of words after Willa went to bed, Ron voluntarily slept on the couch while I was in the big, lonely bed by myself.

Ron left to go drop Willa off and then to work on an unhappy note while I went to my spinning class. After two days of this I was beginning to get upset at the fact that we were still fighting. I was sure the only way to fix it was to apologize but I didn't want to give in…which was mostly the reason that talking about it turning into an argument last night.

I found myself missing the phone calls around lunch and missing dreaming of going home and going as a family to our usual Friday night movie.

After my last class that afternoon, I picked up Willa and brought her home. She played on the floor in my room while I began cleaning, the only thing that calmed my nerves.

I straightened out everything on the floor, remade the bed with all new sheets, and then began emptying the closet out. Eventually I had all the clothes out and was now working my way through the boxes in the back of the closet. I began opening and organizing things until I came across a box labeled, _Ron and Hermione Memories_. Curiously I opened the box and found an assortment of things. Some were little notes we used to pass back and forth in Hogwarts, there was old pictures of us, some souvenirs from our first apartment, some souvenirs from our wedding, and just sweet things that held memories from the past three years that we've been a couple. At the bottom of the box I found something that made me smile. It was a little teddy bear with a heart on its stomach.

The memory of how I came to have this bear, flooded my mind.

"_I'm going to win you something." Ron said once I explained the concept of the games to him. _

"_You don-"_

"_I want to." He paid the game person and then got three balls. He chucked the first one at it and it missed by just a little and then he tried the second one and hit it directly in the middle, they collapsed. The man handed Ron the teddy bear and Ron handed it to me. _

"_Thanks!" I kissed him on the cheek._

"_No problem," He blushed. _

"Mama." Willa crawled into my lap with one of Ron's large shirts around her. I laughed, figuring that somehow it fell on her or she crawled into it. "Ba-air." Willa said, pointing to the little teddy bear.

"Daddy won this for me when we were seventeen. We loved each other but we weren't together. It's a long complicated story that I'll tell you one day when you're older." I said to her. Willa reached for the bear and I handed it to her. "I guess you should have it now. It'll always remind you of the good times Mummy and Daddy have had even if we are fighting at the moment." Willa looked at the bear and then crawled out of my lap.

"Ba-air!" she called to Midnight who was hiding under the bed. I smiled and then started reading through the little notes we used to pass each other. At one point I began crying as I remembered these things and thought about the way we were fighting now. We've never had a fight last this long since having Willa and Ron has never slept on the couch but the thing that troubled me was that I didn't know how to end it or where we went from here…

Ron was home for dinner at his usual time. I had managed to finish cleaning the bedroom and start dinner. He hurried for Willa while I placed the food on the table.

"Dinner's ready." I announced. Ron looked at me strangely but placed Willa in her chair and sat down as well.

Dinner went on as silently as ever. I opened my mouth several times to say something but was afraid that it would end up in a fight. Finally Ron began cleaning up while I got Willa ready to go to the movie theaters on Sparks Street to see _The Adventures of Garry Ghost_, an animated wizard's movie for children.

"Dinner was good." Ron said stiffly from the counter where he was washing dishes. It sounded as if it were a strained compliment…like it was meant to break the ice.

"Thanks…" I stood up with Willa in my arms. She had on her coat and her diaper bag was packed for the movie.

"Hermione–" whatever Ron was going to say was stopped by the sound of his M-phone ringing. He seemed just as agitated by the interruption as I did. "Hello?" he angrily asked into his M-phone. "What?" his face lit up. "We'll be right there!" He hung up his phone and stuffed it back in his pocket. "Alicia's in labor. They're at St. Mungo's." he announced.

"Oh she's having the twins!" I exclaimed happily.

"I'll meet you there." Ron said. He squeezed his eyes shut and was gone. I was slightly upset because we usually Apparate as a family but I got over it and Apparated to the place where there were about to be two knew additions to the Weasley family.

Everyone was already in the waiting room, including Alicia's father. Ron was getting an update on what was going on. I sat down in between Ginny and Luna with Willa in my lap. Luna had Phinny in her arms while Ginny held an almost sleeping Lily. It was three a.m. in England and seven p.m. in California. Everyone here was in their pajamas. Sasha was even asleep on Trey's shoulder.

Ron came over only to get Willa.

"I'll hold her." he offered. I said nothing and handed him her diaper bag. Ron took her hand and walked over to the other side of the room with Grammy and Grandpa.

"What's going on?" I asked Ginny. She looked confused from the exchange Ron and I just had but said nothing about it.

"She's been having contractions for a while but thought it was false labor. Finally her water broke and George rushed her here two hours ago. Fred just called everyone here." Ginny informed me. "It shouldn't be long."

"Good." I nodded and looked over at Willa who was in Arthur's arms. She was showing him her new teddy bear. I watched Ron's eyes as he recognized the bear. He looked over at me while our locked for a moment. In a way the fight was resolved with that one look but there was still so much more we had to say and quite possibly more arguing to go.

"What's going on?" Ginny questioned after catching Ron and I dodging each other's glance once again.

"Nothing." I assured her. Ginny gave me a skeptical look but before I could explain anything Ron was back in front of me.

"Can we talk?" he asked awkwardly. I nodded and followed him out of the waiting room. We stood farther apart that we probably ever have and stared at each other for what must have been five minutes.

"I'm not sorry." I finally said. "Yes, I realize you do have a right to know where Willa is but I'm not apologizing because I went to help Sasha when she needed me and my phone wasn't working." There I said it.

"Hermione, you don't understand how worried I was for that hour that I couldn't find you two. No one knew where you were." Ron said. He looked at me with fear in his eyes.

"I do understand Ron. I would feel the same way but there was no right or wrong in this situation." I said.

"Why do I still want to be right then?" he asked. "I want to know where the hell you are. On Thursday when I woke up and found that note you left, I was furious. I knew where you went but you usually wake me up and tell me where you're going."

"Maybe I did that to spite you a little." I admitted. "But I didn't want to apologize and I especially didn't want that forced out of me." I took a deep breath and swallowed all of my pride. "I miss you."

"I miss you to." Ron said. "The couch is really uncomfortable." I let out a giggle although I felt like crying.

"I guess it would make sense to let you know if Willa and I leave the country even if we are only going to be gone for a few hours. I'm not sorry that I didn't before _but_ I think that it would solve a lot of future problems if I did from now on." I said.

"I'd like that." Ron said. He smiled at me. We had moved closer but were still not in touching distance. "Was that bear that Willa had – was that the bear that I won you at the carnival that summer?" I smiled broadly.

"Yes. I found it when I was cleaning today. I found a lot of stuff actually. It reminded me when we used to fight when we were younger." I said.

"I guess there were ones that topped this one." Ron said.

"Well, it depends on how you look at it." I shrugged. "We went two days without speaking much or sleeping in the same bed…and we're married with a child. Back then we argued constantly and didn't speak for days at a time but we weren't even together."

"True." Ron shrugged and before I could say anything else he walked forward and wrapped his arms around me. His mouth pressed against mine and I put pressure back against his. The first kiss after two days…almost as good as the first kiss. I was actually looking forward to tonight when we got home. When you thought about it, two days was a looong time.

The door to the waiting room opened and Harry came out.

"The babies were born!" he announced. Ron and I broke apart before smiling at each other and following Harry in to congratulate George.

The bliss of the new babies was wonderful. Over the past two and a half years we had been through ten of these and each time they were still wonderful. Bringing a new life into the world…it really was something amazing.

Ron took over holding a sleeping Lily while Harry and Ginny (who was now just showing) went in to see the new babies. We were next in line and Willa was still awake to see her new cousins.

Eagerly I held Willa and we walked through the doors to see and Exhausted Alicia holding one baby while George was smiling down at another little one in his arms. He smiled even bigger when he saw Willa.

"This is your cousin Autumn, Willa." George told her. He brought the tiny baby closer for her to see. I held her hands so she wouldn't reach for the newborn.

"Bay-be?" Willa asked Ron.

"Yes, little baby Autumn." Ron responded.

"Bay-be." Willa repeated, looking at her brand new little cousin.

"Here, you can hold her." George said. He passed Autumn to Ron who smiled at his new niece. George lifted the other baby from Alicia's arms and brought her over too. Alicia smiled tiredly as she watched George with their children. "And this is Amber." he informed us.

"Amber and Autumn?" I asked, looking at tiny baby Amber.

"We each got to pick a name." Alicia explained. "I chose Amber, it means "gorgeous and golden", the perfect name for our daughter."

"I chose Autumn." George said. "It was going to be Ashley but we take a walk every afternoon and lately the leaves have been changing and the season is my favorite. The name just suits my daughter." I had never seen George like this before and neither had Ron. It was actually interesting to see how an hour of being a father had changed him. "They both have good names. Its like Fred and George. They'll be Hogwarts legends forever just like we are." But of course he was still George.

x

Willa finally nodded off to sleep and we had to take her home. We congratulated the new parents once again and headed home where we put Willa to bed. The second Willa's door was closed and her soft rhythmic breathing could be heard through the baby monitor, Ron grabbed me and pulled me to him. Our lips met and we backed up towards our bedroom. My favorite part of fighting: making up afterwards.

Each time Ron and I fight we learn from our fights. This time around we both learned that our stubbornness tends to get in the way when we fight about something stupid and unnecessary. I definitely would have preferred to skip this fight all together (this was one of the worst) but now that it happened and it was resolved, I felt like a better person and wife. Sure it would happen again…and again but I think next time the two of us would handle ourselves better – and get to the making up part much quicker.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!**

**Thank you Anna for the bear idea!!!**

**Always,  
****Kylie**


	19. Thankful

**a/n: Finally! I finished this chapter that has literally taken me forever to write. I would have never been able to finish this chapter without a faithful reviewer, Anna, who came up with ideas in this chapter and edited and my best friend, Becki, who gave me encouragement and ideas to work from!! Thanks!!!**

**I started to work on the next story and plan on putting that up soon (while I still continue with this one)!!!**

**I hope you enjoy this one and the next one will come as soon as I finish!!**

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Happy Needless Turkey Murder Day! – Phoebe, _Friends

Ron and I decided that if we were going to live in the States, then we would raise our daughter to follow in the traditions of both the country that she was born in and the country that she calls home…even if that meant celebrating a holiday where turkey was the main course. Although I wasn't going to eat the meat, I still liked the concept of Thanksgiving. Everyday we should be thankful for life and the gifts that it's given us, but a day to point out these things and really feel thankful was something that I would enjoy celebrating.

The night before Thanksgiving, Ron and I were in the backyard, lying on top of a sleeping bag and staring up at the stars. Willa was asleep inside and it was such a nice night that we brought a sleeping bag out and lay down. I was wearing gray sweatpants and a black sweater. I pulled the sweater around myself tighter at the night chill while I turned my head to look at Ron. He was staring up at the sky with a smile on his face and his hands stuffed into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"Look, a shooting star." Ron pointed out. He pointed upward at the sky and I looked in that direction. "Make a wish." he said.

"A wish?" I questioned. "You made me rethink every wish I even think of making on a shooting star."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked. He turned his head and looked at me.

"The only other time I've seen a shooting star with you, you told me that you didn't wish for anything because you already had everything you wanted." I turned on my side and leaned on my elbow. Ron chuckled a little.

"'Mione you understand that I was seventeen, hopelessly in love and willing to make up bullshit just to see you smile, right?" he questioned, still smiling at me. "And it was possible that I just wanted a little action." I stared at him in surprise.

"What?" I finally asked. "You made me feel bad about wishing for something and you wished for something too?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds." Ron said. "I did it in the name of love." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Are you still talking rubbish just to get some?" I questioned.

"No. Honestly, I said that to make you smile and I did sort of mean it." Ron said.

"Well what did you wish for?" I demanded.

"I wished that the moment would last forever." he answered. "Harry and Ginny interrupted us but I got my wish. I'm still sitting here with you, looking up at the stars and in love." I smiled at him but then my head cleared and I frowned at him.

"Oh please!" I said. "You probably just want me in a good mood so you can take me upstairs and have your way with me while I'm happy." Ron laughed.

"That may be so but I genuinely meant that I wished to be next to you forever, in love and feeling like I did in that moment when you smiled at me." Ron said. A smile formed on my lips again and I rolled over so my head was resting on Ron's chest.

"I think I believe you." I informed him.

"Good." Ron said. He kissed the top of my head.

"I mean, when we were seventeen you said some stuff that I'm sure you wouldn't say in normal circumstances and was just for flattery but just so you know, I was the same way. Eventually it was genuine but I guess we all say stuff because we were newly in love." I replied. Ron chuckled again.

"At least we were on the same page." he shrugged.

"So what did you wish for now?" I asked. I turned my head up to look at him.

"I can't tell you, it won't come true." he responded.

"Ok fine then I won't tell you what I wished for." I replied.

"Fine." Ron said.

It was silent for exactly twenty seconds before I gave in.

"I wished that Willa would be able to feel in love like this one day." I blurted out.

"And I wished that she wouldn't." Ron said. We both laughed before going silence once again. Our gazes turned to the millions of bright stars shinning in the sky.

"Tomorrow is sure going to be interesting." I informed him. "I'm cooking for nine people and you're deep-frying a turkey."

"I can't wait." Ron said with excitement in his voice. "I've got all the directions. The guys from work wrote them down for me."

"And I've got the fire extinguisher." I replied. He laughed.

"Well I'm at least thankful that our house won't burn down because my wife is always thinking ahead." he said.

"And I'm thankful that my husband appreciates the fact that I think ahead." I said. Ron kissed my forehead and smiled before lying back down and looking at the stars with me.

I was thankful for this moment with my husband, staring up at the stars, remembering past romantic times, and pondering our daughter's future (in two completely different ways).

x

Thanksgiving dinner was at two-thirty. Everyone planned on being here by two. I knew I was under a lot of pressure for this dinner. I had made several big dinners in the past but I felt that this was the real challenge. This was Thanksgiving dinner…my first Thanksgiving dinner and according to what I heard from just about everyone, Thanksgiving dinner was a big deal.

Harry, Ginny, Lily, Neville, Luna, and Phinny were coming for dinner. Harry, Ginny and Lily spent the night in a hotel in New York. They were actually going to the Wizard's Thanksgiving Day parade and then Apparating here in time. Neville and Luna were spending the morning in and then they were starting a family tradition of going to see a new movie every year on Thanksgiving (because Neville was thankful for what he started). They were joining us after their movie. Becki, Paul, and Anna were joining us for dessert after Thanksgiving Dinner with their families.

I had several recipes for the dishes I was about to make and as I woke up and began going over them, I was starting to regret relinquishing control over the cooking of the turkey. That was what everyone (but me) was going to want to eat most. I was only comforted by the thought that I could spend more time on cooking and making the other dishes perfect. I did have a backup chicken (turkeys were sold out) if we needed it…but I was hoping that I wouldn't need it. Our menu for Thanksgiving dinner, besides the turkey, included dressing, green bean casserole, cranberry compote, mashed potatoes and gravy, brown and serve rolls, baked butternut squash, corn on the cob and toss salad. Becki volunteered to bring the pumpkin and apple pies for desert.

"Mama!" I turned my attention to Willa who was coming down the stairs in Ron's arms. They were both still in their pajamas. Willa was squirming in Ron's arms to get down. Once they reached the last step, Ron set her down and she ran for the kitchen where I was standing. I smiled and knelt down to kiss her forehead. She stood for a moment before going straight for the cabinet where her pots and pans were.

"Looks like someone wants to help make dinner." I noted.

"Ya-ya!" Willa exclaimed. I smiled as Ron sat down at the counter.

"Are we starving all day or do we get to eat something before this marvelous feast you're making?" Ron questioned.

"Feed the cats and I'll get you something to eat." I said to him.

"But I wanted to watch the parade." Ron protested. He looked at the time on the television clock. "It's just starting." I flicked my wand towards the WTV and the screen lit up.

"Welcome to the Wizard's Thanksgiving Day Parade!" announced someone off screen. Ron was informed about the holiday from his coworkers. They filled him in on every last detail including the Wizard's parade that was a tradition started a while ago. Most wizards who didn't live in New York either Apparated across the country at an early hour or were unable see the parade but this year it was being broadcasted on WTV for everyone to see.

"There. Now you can feed the cats _and_ watch the parade." I said. Ron frowned and muttered something while he got the cat food. I smiled in my good mood and got out a bowl of cereal for Ron. Willa was making a lot of noise, pulling out every last pot and pan in the cabinet.

"Ok, organization." I muttered to myself. I gathered all of my recipes and put them in the order that they would be cooked and then I cleaned the kitchen counter completely off, instructing Ron to eat at the dining room table.

It took ten minutes for Willa to get bored of her pots and pans, leaving them there and waddling to the couch to watch the Rockstones go by on top of a parade float.

"Santa's float is coming up next Wil." Ron informed her.

"Ohahyeah." Willa said although she had no idea who Santa Claus was. I smiled and got busy cooking.

Today I was actually thankful that she was busy watching TV so I could cook.

x

"…and that, my beautiful daughter, is how Thanksgiving was started." I finished my speech and looked up from the vegetables I was cutting. Willa was no longer listening to me at all. She was over in the living room playing with her toys while Midnight and Mimi sat, basking in the sun. My Thanksgiving story had gone to waste. I smiled as Willa picked up her toy M-phone and began yammering in baby gibberish. There was the occasional understood word…she was just too adorable.

Ron was upstairs showering and changing before he began to deep-fry the turkey. He went up as I came down from showing and changing. I was now wearing a blue empire dress and ugg boots but I would change into the less comfortable pumps once the guests arrived. Willa was dressed nicely for the holiday as well. She was wearing one of the many free dresses she gets from Auntie Ginny – this one was pink – and later she would have a nice pair of shoes on to go with it.

I rinsed my hands in the sink and abandoned my cooking. I lowered myself onto the floor and smiled while she brought something over to me.

"Mama!" she called and thrust the small princess mirror in my hands.

"What's this?" I asked. I pulled her into my lap and faced the mirror so her beautiful face could be seen through it.

"Me!" she exclaimed excitedly. "Wa." – it was a start at an attempt at saying her name.

"Yes that's you." I said, smiling. She stared in the mirror, transfixed with her reflection. Finally she reached out for the mirror and held it up so I could see my face.

"Ooo!" she said to indicate that that was me in the mirror.

"Yes, it's Mama." I said. She giggled. I lifted her up and balanced her on my hip while I opened the sliding door to outside. The sun hit us directly as we walked outside onto the beautiful green grass. I was thankful for this beautiful day we were having.

I looked at Willa who was squinting an eye at me. It reminded me of exactly how Ron looked in the sun, when he didn't have his sunglasses on. Willa squirmed in my arms to get down. I set her on the grass and she began waddling around the backyard. In the corner of the yard Ron had the equipment for deep-frying the turkey set up and in the other corner was Willa's slide, which she was trying to climb. I hurried over and helped her on top of the slide. She sat there for a moment, anticipating the short distance to the ground that she would travel. I stood on the other end of the slide and waited for her to push herself down. Finally she gave herself a push and giggled for the whole two seconds it took to reach the bottom. I lifted her up as soon as she got to the bottom and spun her around. She giggled even louder.

Boy was I thankful for that amazing giggling sound.

"Is that laughter I hear?" Willa and I turned to see Ron exiting the house, fully dressed for the holiday. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a gray sweater. He smiled at Willa and me.

"Dada! Dada!" Willa called out.

"Hey Munchkin." Ron said. I passed Willa over to him and she smiled. "Beautiful Thanksgiving." he noted as he propped Willa on the slide again.

"It is." I said, smiling. The weather was perfect and we were enjoying our happy, blissful family moment.

Willa reached the bottom of the slide and took off in a baby run. Ron trotted after her, making her giggle as she ran from Daddy. I smiled and watched, thankful for this wonderful moment.

"Hello?" I turned to the door where the Potter family was standing. They were bundled up in coats and scarves while Harry held the little Potter flower in his arms.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" I said, smiling.

"Hi!" Ginny replied. She smiled and began shedding a layer. She took off her fancy designer coat to reveal a sweater dress that showed off her three-month bump. I reached out to hug her before she hurried to see her niece. I held Lily for Harry while he took off his heavy coat.

"Not New York weather, is it?" I questioned as I started to unbutton Lily's black coat. The little girl smiled at me as I gave her a kiss on the cheek and set her down on Willa's backyard swing. I knew Ginny's rules about Lily crawling around in the grass in a new dress.

"No. It was freezing there." Harry said.

"How was the parade?" Ron asked Harry as he took Ginny's jacket, Harry's jacket, and Lily's jacket to bring inside.

"Awesome." Harry replied.

"Yeah, I saw it on TV." Ron said. "It must have been even cooler in real life."

"Oh, it was." Harry assured him. "How did deep-frying the turkey go?"

"We still have yet to find out." I informed him.

"Want to help?" Ron asked.

"Yeah!" Harry replied, looking a little too eager. I smiled and took the coats from Ron's arms.

"Don't burn anything and keep an eye on the girls playing." I instructed.

"Yes my love." Ron replied. He gave my cheek a kiss and then turned towards the deep fryer. He clapped his hands together and started telling Harry what they were going to be doing.

I laughed and turned towards the house with the coats in my hand. I was tempted to toss them on the couch but knowing how expensive these French coats must have been. I took out my wand and guided them towards the closet where they hung themselves up. I set myself back up at the counter with all of my cooking tools and began working as Ginny came in.

"Can I do anything to help?" Ginny asked.

"You can set the table." I suggested.

"Ok." Ginny seemed glad to help. She began to tell me how much Lily and Harry enjoyed the Thanksgiving Day parade. "I think Little James enjoyed the parade too." she said, rubbing her stomach.

"James?" I questioned. "Did you find out already?" I smiled but Ginny shook her head.

"No, but I think it's got to be a boy." she said. She placed a stack of dishes down on the table and looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening. "It's definitely going to be a boy. I have six brothers and I expect Lily to have a few of them. I even thought that Lily was going to be a boy up until Harry spilt the beans." She took out her wand and began organizing the plates and silverware around the table. "Harry thinks it's going to be another girl but I think he's delusional."

I laughed. "You never know." I said. She smiled at me.

"Well, in six months James and I will prove you all wrong." Ginny said. I smiled as the doorbell rang.

"Neville, Luna and Phinny are here." I announced.

"I'll go get the girls before they get that Turkey in." Ginny said while the last fork settled itself next to a plate. I nodded and turned the last burner on low before hurrying to answer the door for our friends.

"Hi!" I said, smiling as the door opened. The Longbottoms stood on the other side, looking like themselves in a very Thanksgiving way. Luna was wearing a short brown dress with a funky turkey necklace hanging around her neck and a pair of brown flats. She was smiling with Phinny's diaper bag over her shoulder. Neville was holding Phinny in his arms. The two looked alike in a pair of jeans and t-shirts that read, "Gobble, Gobble" above the picture of a turkey. In addition to that Phinny had a cap on his head with the same picture as his t-shirt.

"Hi." Luna replied, smiling brightly.

"Look at him, he's gotten so big." I noted, reaching for Phinny. Neville placed the three month old in my arms and I led the way inside. Ginny made it back in the living room. She was holding Lily in one arm and holding on to Willa's hand with the other.

"Now be careful about getting your dress dirty." Ginny said to Lily as she placed her daughter on the ground…not that Lily was really going to comprehend the request. Willa ran off for her toys while Lily crawled away from her mother quickly. "Oh my, look at that handsome little man." Ginny smiled when she saw Phinny. I passed him along to her and she made him smile with her baby talk.

"How was the movie?" I asked the couple who settled down onto the couch.

"Phinny fell asleep." Neville said. "So Luna and I were watching a children's movie for nearly two hours."

"It was…_interesting_." Luna decided, trying to put a positive spin on it.

"Don't lie, you fell asleep too." Neville protested. Luna shrugged, smiling.

"Ron and Harry are just sticking the Turkey in if you want to go help." Ginny informed Neville as she placed Phinny into Willa's baby swing. She set it on low motion and turned around to see Neville but he already ran straight for the door. Luna and I laughed.

"Mama." I looked down to see Willa at my feet, holding a toy phone for me. "Ooo." she said.

"Thank you baby." I said. "Hello?" I asked into the phone.

The look on her face was priceless as I pretended to talk into the phone. I was thankful that I got to see her beautiful face every day of my life.

"So almost everyone's here?" Ginny checked as she counted off the plates on the table.

"Yes. Becki and Paul will be here for dessert but other than that everyone is here." I replied. I lifted Willa up and gave her a kiss before standing and resuming my cooking.

I now understood why Thanksgiving came only once a year, it was a lot of cooking for more than one day of it. I was definitely grateful for the fact that Ron offered to clean up if I let him deep-fry the turkey.

x

"And here's the Turkey." Ron announced as he delivered a plate of sliced turkey to the table. I was not at all surprised that it came out well…ok just a little bit. He pulled his seat up next to mine and smiled at Willa who was making a mess of her mashed potatoes.

"So, I'll go first." I said. I smiled at the guests. "I am thankful for my incredible family who–"

I was interrupted from being thankful for my friends and family as I heard loud popping noises echo from outside. My first thought that it was the sound of Apparating until a few pieces of popcorn flew into the house.

"Did you take it out?" Harry asked Ron.

"No I though Neville was!" Ron replied, worriedly.

"I thought Harry was!" Neville replied. The three men jumped from their seats as the cats sprang away from the door.

"What the heck is going on?" Ginny asked. She stood up and peered out the door while a spell was heard from outside. Luna lifted a curious Phinny in her arms and stood away from the door.

I figured out what happened and couldn't help but laugh. Willa saw me laughing and joined in as she tossed her mashed potatoes around her high chair tray. It was not a family event without something crazy going on.

Ron, Harry, and Neville came back into the house, panting.

"What happened?" Ginny asked. She fell into her seat next to Lily and stared at the popcorn on the ground.

"We tried to deep-fry the left over corn." Neville admitted, looking down at the ground.

"But no one took it out." Harry said, looking just as guilty.

"And now there's a layer of popcorn coating the backyard." Ron said. He tried to look innocent.

It took five seconds before Luna and Ginny began laughing as well. Phinny smiled and Lily giggled along with us.

I was thankful for these crazy moments with our friends. Life was so much more enjoyable with these laughter-filled moments.

x

Becki, Paul, and Anna arrived just as Ron, Harry, and Neville were setting the last clean plate into the cabinet (they worked out their own little clean-up system that included clearing my back yard of popcorn). The children were sleeping and it looked like Anna was about to join them.

We all sat around the table and enjoyed the pumpkin and apple pies that Becki and Paul brought. We talked and everyone caught up with Harry and Ginny who did not live, as close and everyone didn't get to see as often.

As the children finally awoke the sky began to get dimmer and dimmer. Paul suggested that we go to the beach to watch the sunset so everyone gathered their things and we took the twenty-minute walk to the beach.

All in all I would have to say that Thanksgiving was a tradition that I wanted to keep up with next year and for years to come. It was truly something to be aware of what I was grateful for because what it did was make me realize how good my life was with my amazing family.

I was incredibly grateful for my beautiful and interested daughter, Willa and my amazing, funny husband, Ron.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1**


	20. The Christmas Feeling

**a/n: hi. I am very very sorry this took so long! I've been incredibly busy with school, working two jobs and applying to colleges. I am going to try and get more writing done but just know that I won't leave this story until it has a proper ending that won't leave off in the middle of something. **

**This is the pre-Christmas chapter, the next one is the Christmas/post-Christmas chapter. I've already got the quote and I have the night off from work so I will be working very hard on getting it done. **

**I hope everyone is still reading the story and I hope you enjoy this chapter!!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. -Norman Vincent Peale_

There's something about Christmas…it starts with a feeling that comes when the decorations start to show up everywhere. The feeling is magnified once I see the tree and house completely decorated, and then I explode with Christmas cheer as I watch Willa marvel at Christmas.

The Christmas feeling is especially special for children. When I watch Willa as she stares in wonder at the lights on our tree or dances with Ron to the cheery music, I see the Christmas feeling in her. She's only thirteen and a half months but she has a lively spirit that is magnified during the Christmas season. …and Ron is a kid at heart. He passes on all of his excitement about the holiday to our daughter and together the three of us have an incredible Christmas planned that makes even the moments leading up to it enjoyable.

"How about this for your little cousins?" I asked Willa as I held up two identical soft stuffed frogs that would sing if you squeezed it for the youngest Weasleys. Willa smiled and reached out for them. "I'll take that as a yes." I smiled at her and tossed the frogs into the back of the shopping cart. Willa pouted and turned back to see if she could still reach the frogs.

"Humph." she pouted angrily at me once she realized that she could not reach them.

"It's not yours, Wil." I informed her. She didn't take too kindly to this news…

Willa and I were in _Sparksmart_, a wizard chain store on _Sparks Street_ (similar to the muggle store, Target) shopping for Christmas. So far all we had gotten were gifts for the children. We now had something for Lex, Cecilia, Penny, Max, Greg, Lily, Phinny, Amber and Autumn. I was still at a loss for what to get my Secret Santa. Molly devised an easier solution to buying gifts this year. She suggested a Secret Santa for the seven children and their spouses to make things a little easier on us for buying gifts. Ron was supposed to meet me here and help me pick out gifts for his parents but he was twenty-five minutes late already.

I had gotten Ron's gifts all taken care of yesterday. I got him the latest in M-phone technology, called the WM-Phone. It played music, videos…all that good stuff. In addition to the phone, I got him some nice shirts for work, some movies, and a new watch. Willa got him an interesting frame to put our family Christmas photo in (although she didn't know it).

Sighing, I steered the shopping cart out of the toy aisle and into the next aisle.

"What do you think Uncle Fred wants for Christmas?" I asked Willa. I looked at Willa but she didn't respond to me. Instead she was stretching her arms out of the cart and reaching for things on shelves.

"My! My!" she exclaimed, calling for the toys. I took her hands and put it back into the cart, giving her a stern look.

"No Willa." I told her. "You'll get your gifts on Christmas morning after Father Christmas brings them to you." She pouted at me and looked around the carriage for something else to take. "Someone needs a nap." I noted, as she got fussier. I sighed yet again and walked straight past all the other aisles in frustration. I began unloading the cart at the checkout line as I dialed Ron's number.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm leaving now." Ron said into the phone, rather than hello.

"No, don't bother. I'm going to take Willa home for a nap." I replied. "She's getting fussy because she isn't getting anything."

"Hermione, I'm sorry. I got caught up with the layout editor. He was having trouble." Ron said.

"It's alright." I said, although I was a little ticked off. "I'll see you tonight when you get home."

"'Mione I'm really sorry–"

I hung up my phone without saying goodbye and placed it back in my purse. Willa was playing with a small stuffed penguin that she had somehow managed to get into her hands while I was on the phone. She looked up at me and smiled when she saw me looking. The little trickster…but the smile on her face made me give in and I decided to buy her the small toy. She gave it a squeeze.

"Merry Christmas!" the thing exclaimed. Willa giggled brightly at the penguin and squeezed it again. I laughed along with her this time and brushed her hair from her eyes.

Shopping for Christmas gifts with her was something that I was going to look forward to for the next two weeks. Even if she was cranky at points, the time spent together would be fun.

During the ride home, Willa yelled in incomprehensible language and threw toys up into the front seat, including her new penguin. Miss Cranky Lady needed a nap for sure.

After putting the bags of gifts away I took Willa to her room to put her down for a nap.

"Goodnight baby." I said.

"No!" she exclaimed.

"Yes. Goodnight." I leaned down to kiss her forehead while she protested more. I opened her music box and her face scrunched up...the wailing began. The only thing I could do was stick Teddy in her crib with her and close the door. I waited outside the door until the crying abated and I finally heard her soft breathing through the baby monitor.

I trailed back downstairs with the intention to wrap the gifts up but instead I opted to make some peppermint hot chocolate and read a book.

x

"So then the whole thing had to be done over because of that one little mistake." Ron explained as he washed the dishes. This was the fifteenth time he tried to explain why he never made it to the store at lunchtime.

"Oh." I replied. I sat on the floor in front of Willa who was handing me her stuffed animals. I already had a large stack in my arms and she still had so many more.

"He-ah." Willa said, handing me another stuffed bear. I made a mental note to not buy her another stuffed animal.

"Thank you baby." I said.

"'Mione, I'm sorry. How many times do I have to say it? I'm really, really sorry." Ron turned off the sink and dried his hands before joining Willa and I in the living room.

"I'm not angry." I said. I stood up with the stuffed animals tucked in my arms and looked at him. "I understand why you were late."

"Then why do you seem angry?" Ron asked.

"Because I've had to listen to you go on and on for the past half hour about how sorry you are. I get it Ron." I said to him. "You're sorry." He smiled sheepishly.

"I have been a bit obnoxious with it." he admitted. "Sor–" I smiled

"You're forgiven." I said. I gave him a quick kiss as Willa handed me another stuffed animal.

"He-ah Mama." I attempted to grab it and add it to the pile but one more was over my limit. The other stuffed animals began to tumble from my arms. "Oh no!" Willa exclaimed in surprise as they fell.

It seemed as if it were in slow motion. The stuffed animals slowly fell from my arms and Willa put her hands up to stop them. The next thing we knew, the animals stopped in mid-air. They only stayed frozen for three seconds until the magic lost control. One by one the animals forcefully flew at the Christmas tree. Ron reached for Willa with a smile on his face and pulled her out of the way incase any ornaments fell.

"Did she–" I questioned.

"She did–" Ron answered. We were both smiling at each other and Willa.

"Oh my little witch!" I said. I lifted Willa from Ron's arms. I kissed her forehead and smiled. She was watching the tree where her stuffed animals lay amidst fallen ornaments. She seemed to be sort of proud of herself…for what? She wasn't sure but the way Ron and I made a big deal out of what she did she seemed pleased.

"I knew it!" Ron exclaimed. "You're brilliant Munchkin, just like your Mum." He smiled proudly at her.

"You really are brilliant." I said to her. I kissed her nose and she giggled.

"Dow!" she exclaimed. Ron waved his wand over the mess so the floor was clean. I placed Willa back down and she went straight for her stuffed animals again. This time she began organizing them under the tree nicely.

Ron put his arm around me as we watched our beautiful little girl playing with her toys…our beautiful little girl was really our beautiful little witch: magic making and all.

x

The weekend before Christmas Ron and I decided that we would take a drive to Laguna Beach with Willa. Sitting on the beach a few days before Christmas was an odd concept to me when I thought about it. Ron said I was overanalyzing things as usual but I couldn't stop thinking about Christmas in California.

Ron lay next to me with a sweatshirt protecting his eyes from the sun while Willa sat in my arms. We watched as the surfers rode the waves; Willa giggled as another wave came.

"Someone fall off their surfboard?" Ron asked beneath the sweatshirt. I hit his arm for the insensitive comment. Willa tore her attention from the surfers and escaped my arms. She walked over to Ron and fell on his stomach. "Oomph!" he exclaimed. He sat up and smiled at Willa. "Shall we go get some rocks for the jar Munchkin?" he asked her. Willa smiled in response. Ron stood up and took Willa's hand, leading her off to find some interesting beach rocks to add to their rock collection.

I laid back against the blanket, still pondering over the absurdity of being on a beach in the middle of December. Before last year, we would be at the Burrow right now. Molly would be decorating the house and Fred and George would be pulling some kind of prank. Even last year, we spent our Christmas Eve at the Burrow with our newborn. Now things were so much different. We had a thirteen month old who thought that she was the center of the universe (the most beautiful center of the Universe, though) and we were spending our Christmas in our permanent home in California before going to spend the rest of the holiday with our family.

I smiled. No matter how absurd it was at first, this was now our home and it felt right to be sitting here on the beach in December.

Ha, there was a something good about overanalyzing things…I always ended up coming to a conclusion.

A few minutes later Ron and Willa came back to the blanket. Ron held a handful of patterned stones while Willa held one in each hand. She handed me a rock.

"Thanks Wil." I said. I pulled her into my arms and tickled her. Her giggles caused Ron to smile as he emptied the rocks into my purse.

"Merry Christmas, love." he joked.

"How did you know that I wanted a bunch of rocks?" I asked, smiling. Willa escaped my grip and grabbed the shovel from the toy bag. Ron laughed and sat down next to me with an arm around me.

"I just know these things." he informed me. I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder. I sighed happily.

_This is Christmas._ I thought to myself, satisfied with the conclusion I came to.

x

Twas the evening before Christmas and – it was a complete madhouse! Willa and I had just escaped the mall, securing the last present for my Secret Santa (Fred) who (besides George) was the most difficult to shop for. Now all of the shopping was done! Willa's gifts and stocking presents were sorted out and all set up to go under the tree as soon as the little elf went to sleep, and we had warm clothes to wear for our two-night stay in England. We were all set to go home and watch whatever Christmas movie was on TV tonight.

"Mama!" Willa called as she ran around the side of the car. In her hand she held a little gift bag with a small grape candle inside. She looked adorable in her little red dress and black leggings. She caught up with me and stopped. "F-aw Dada." she explained to me as she held up the bag so that I could see. In the store where we got Molly's candles, Willa became fascinated with the small purple candle so I let her get it for Ron and now she was excited to give it to him.

"Yes it is, baby." I lifted my little witch up and guided the bags of gifts along with my wand. We entered the house and I set Willa down. She took off running with her gift for Daddy while I began sorting through the gifts that needed to be ready for tomorrow. I watched for a moment as Willa gingerly set the bag down under the tree and then sat in front of it to wait until Ron got home. I smiled; she was so excited to give that to Ron.

Of course the excitement only lasted a minute more. Her short child's attention span gave up and came to watch me while I wrapped up the remaining gifts.

"Me." Willa said, grabbing onto the holiday wrapping paper. It ripped in half.

"Here baby, why don't you take this and put it under the tree with all the other gifts." I handed a wrapped gift to Willa and she happily hurried over to the tree. And then she came back for another. I laughed and handed her another.

It took fifteen minutes to completely wrap everyone's gifts.

"We're done!" I said, sighing and pushing away the remaining wrapping paper.

"We done!" Willa repeated. She fell onto my lap and sighed like I did. I chuckled and then she laughed too. I tiredly lifted up my arm to look at my watch.

"Daddy should be home soon. Mummy is going to start making the hot chocolate I promised Daddy when he got home." I said. "Ok, Wil?"

"K!" she exclaimed. I laughed and lifted her from my lap and spun her around. She giggled happily before I set her down again. Right away she became fixated with her toys while I got the hot water boiling.

"Happy Christmas!" I spun around to see Ron walking through the door with a smile on his face, a bag of groceries for dinner in one hand, and his wand held aloft in the other. He walked towards me, placed the food down and wrapped an arm around me. "Mistletoe." he informed me as his eyes looked upward. I followed his gaze and sure enough there was a mistletoe over our heads. He waved his wand again and snow started to fall lightly from the tip of his wand. I giggled and pulled the collar of his shirt towards me. Our lips met as the snow fell on our heads before completely disappearing.

"Dada!" Willa exclaimed, interrupting our kiss. Ron and I pulled apart (still smiling) and we looked down at Willa who was holding out Ron's gift bag.

"F-aw oo!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"She's been waiting all afternoon to give you that." I told Ron. "I figured that you could have one gift on Christmas Eve."

"Thank you Munchkin." Ron said. He took the gift from her. "And I have something for you too." Ron waved his wand and a gift basket appeared on the floor in front of Willa.

"Ah!" Willa said in amazement. Ron laughed and opened his bag while Willa dug into her basket of goodies.

"What do we have here?" I asked. I knelt down to see what Willa had in her Christmas basket. Willa lifted up a brand new WDVD from the basket and handed it to me before going for whatever else was in there. In total the movie basket that Ron got for Willa had: 3 new WDVD's (_Renaldo the Reindeer Who Couldn't Fly_, _Chilly the Friendly Snowperson_, and _The Grouch_), one large bag of buttered popcorn, a container of Snowcaps, a bag of gummy worms, a box of chocolate covered raisins, a new penguin nightgown, and finally to top off the perfect movie watching experience a pair of penguin slippers. Willa grabbed her penguin slippers and ran into the living room with them while I laughed and began cleaning up.

"I knew she was only going for the slippers." Ron said laughing.

"Well it was very thoughtful." I said. I stood up and planted a kiss on Ron's lips. Ron smiled and handed me a gift bag.

"Now, I know you only drink the low fat hot chocolate but I saw this in the store and I just had to get it." Ron said to me. I smiled and opened up my gift bag. Inside was a pint of peppermint hot chocolate ice cream...with actual marshmellows. My smile widened.

"It's perfect!" I informed him. He wrapped his arms around me again and kissed me. "Maybe we should do dessert before dinner, just this once." I suggested, looking longingly at the tempting new ice cream flavor. Ron laughed.

"'Mione, I can't believe those words are coming from your mouth." Ron said, feigning shock. I laughed and sadly took the ice cream and placed it in the freezer.

"I was joking." I said…although I wasn't. Today I would have made an exception. "You make the sandwiches and I'll set the table." I reasoned.

"Fair enough." Ron said. He gave me another kiss and began to get dinner ready while Willa giggled from the living room.

x

"And now, Munchkin, it's time for bed because Santa's coming tonight!" Ron said. He lifted an overly excited Willa up into the air and she giggled.

"Ron!" I protested as I began cleaning up the living room from the mess we made during our Christmas movie marathon. "She needs to go to bed; she'll never fall asleep now."

"Just wait until she's four and tries to stay up all night to see Santa but she ends up falling asleep behind the couch." Ron said. I rolled my eyes.

"I thought you said you stopped talking to Dad on the phone?" I questioned. "And I made him promise to stop telling you about the things I did as a child." Ron laughed and Willa joined in.

"Your dad calls every Thursday to talk to Willa and me and I always get something new out of him." Ron informed me. "I can't wait until Boxing Day, he said he's got a long Christmas one to tell me." I rolled my eyes yet again and lifted Willa from Ron's arms. He followed me upstairs.

"I can wait." I said. "Mum called yesterday. "She said that since we're staying over night that she'll set up a crib in my old room for Willa."

"That's nice of her." Ron said skeptically, trying to figure out why I sounded bothered by it.

"No." I said. "She said that I'll share the room with Willa and you can spend the night in the guest room. 'It won't hurt, Hermione, if you didn't sleep in the same bed for one night. It's not like you're animals. Plus, Willa would feel more comfortable in the same room as you when she's in an unfamiliar place.'" I said, mimicking my mother.

"Why are we staying the night again?" Ron asked as he tried to put a fussy Willa in her crib.

"No!" she protested.

"Because Mum thinks that she should get to have breakfast with us too." I informed him. I handed Willa her Teddy. Ron looked confused as he lifted Willa up and sat in the rocking chair with her. "She's mad that Dad gets us for brunch on Boxing Day and she only gets us for dinner." I explained. Ron shook his head.

"And why do I have to go?" he asked with a pained look on his face. I gave him a stern look in response.

"Because whether I like it or not she is family no matter how much she'll nag. All I can hope is that she focuses on Willa to much to pick on my faults and that she just plain old ignored you." I said.

"Works for me!" Ron decided. He looked down at Willa. "We'll make the best out of it, Wil." he said to her. It'll be fun…I hope." I laughed and opened Willa's music box. Silent Night began playing softly and Willa started to look drowsy.

"Merry Christmas, girly." I said, kissing her forehead.

"Na…na." Willa said with a yawn in an attempt to say, "night, night". Ron kissed her cheek and gently set our penguin clad daughter into her crib. We watched for a moment until she was fully asleep. Ron got the lights while I shut the door.

"Tomorrow is like her first Christmas." I informed Ron. "She's actually aware of the holiday now."

"And that will make it all the more fun." Ron said smiling. We descended the stairs where I was just about to start cleaning up to living room before I could get the mountainous pile of gifts for Willa out and put underneath the tree. Ron grabbed me around the waist and brought me to the couch where he kissed me. I laughed and as much as I wanted the living room clean and everything prepared for tomorrow, I gave in and kissed him back.

The Christmas feeling is something quite amazing. I see it in my daughter, in my husband, and in myself. Yes, I was excited for Christmas morning and Willa ripping open her Christmas gifts while Ron got it all on camera.

Peppermint hot chocolate ice cream, Christmas movies with my family, wrapping gifts, Willa's giggle brought on by a cartoon Christmas movie, and love on Christmas Eve….that was what the Christmas feeling is to me.

**REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	21. Family Traditions

**a/n: HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!!!!!!!!! Ok, so I was going to make this chapter longer and do the whole part with Hermione's parents but I think I'll save that until the next chapter...or do something of the sort. **

**I hope you like this chapter and have a very happy new year!!!!!!!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.--Burton Hillis_

Christmas morning at the Burrow was something that I looked forward to every year. It was a time where the entire family got together and everything was good without the hustle and bustle of life. This year I was looking forward to Christmas morning in my own house under my own tree with my family. There still was that excitement for our afternoon at the Burrow but making our own family traditions was also a part of Christmas.

The living room was set. Beneath the tree all of Willa's presents lay wrapped up in gold and silver paper. The tree lights were dimly lit amidst the bright room but the ornaments reflected the sun's light beautifully. I snapped several pictures earlier this morning just to capture our Christmas morning before we arrived.

"Happy Christmas, Munchkin!" Ron announced as the three of us entered into our living room. The look on Willa's face when she saw the gifts was absolutely amazing. Luckily Ron got it on camera. She squirmed in my arms as we reached the bottom.

"My!" Willa exclaimed, marveling at the gifts. Finally I could answer my little girl the way I wanted to.

"Yes, baby. Those are yours." I said. I set her down and she started for a silver box. She inspected it and then picked up another to see what it was. She wasn't quite sure what to do with the boxes. Ron set the Wizarding-Recording-Camera up and began sorting through the presents while I got the hot water boiling for some tea.

"Ok, Mione, we're about to start opening presents." Ron announced. Willa sat comfortably on the floor, wearing her penguin pajamas and slippers. Ron was wearing candy cane pajama pants and a white t-shirt with a stack of three gifts on his lap. I levitated Willa's bottle and the two mugs of tea with my wand, wearing a pair of purple pajama pants and a matching hooded shirt. I settled cross-legged on the floor in between Ron and Willa while Ron handed Willa and I, each a gift.

"Ready to open your Christmas gift?" I asked. I turned to Willa, remembering how last year we opened all her gifts for her.

"One…two…three!" Ron announced. He and I tore at the paper on our boxes. Willa watched us curiously for a moment before repeating the act with her gift.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, marveling at the brightly colored toy in her hands.

"What've you got there?" I asked. Willa shook her toy for me and put it on my lap.

"Me?" Willa asked again, reaching for one of the bigger gifts.

"Here you go, Wil." Ron said. He wanted her to open the smaller gifts first and work her way up since the biggest gift was worth the wait.

"Me!" Willa exclaimed happily.

Willa went through her gifts quickly, and there were a lot too. (Once I got started buying, I couldn't help myself and Ron was the same way.) She discarded the clothes in a pile in the corner along with board games and a miniature wizard's chess set but kept the toys in a special order in front of her.

Ron and I opened our gifts from each other as well. I received a few books, a keychain with a picture of Ron and Willa on it, a new yoga mat, a brand new jewelry box with a surprise necklace inside, several movies and CD's, and finally a coupon book full of date night coupons…and a few other surprises stuck in there.

"And now for the final gifts!" Ron announced. He made a large wrapped package at least two or three times the size of Willa appear out of thin air and then handed a smaller one to me. I procured one slightly larger with my wand and handed it to Ron. Willa had already started opening hers before Ron or I could begin with ours. We put our presents aside for moments to watch Willa as she reached high to tear at the gold paper. Half of a toy playhouse was visible while the rest remained under wraps. Ron and I joined in, helping Willa rip open her gift. Once it was completely visible, she stood back to marvel at her own little house.

"Me!" she exclaimed. Ron flicked his wand and the door slowly swung open. Willa hurried inside, delighted to find her own little house with a mini-version of everything. I followed her in while Ron knelt at the window. It was a tight squeeze although magic allowed this playhouse to fit more than its apparent capacity. Willa looked around for a moment before hurrying around me to go gather her toys from outside and bring them in. I laughed and looked at Ron through the window of the house. He smiled at me as I knelt down to give him a kiss.

"Merry Christmas." I said.

"Merry Christmas, my love." He replied. Willa came back into the playhouse moments later with some of her new toys and even a few articles of clothing. She hurried back out to get more. I smiled and quickly slipped around her and out of the house. Ron and I watched momentarily as she continued to "move into her new house" before we started opening our gifts.

I tore the silver paper from the box Ron had handed me. The picture on the box indicated that inside was my brand new _PalmWiz_ M-phone from Longbottom Magictronics. I thought of my heavy purse that held not only my phone and palm pilot but my digital camera as well. Now, I had all three things in one. I smiled up at Ron as he tore the box from his brand new WM-phone.

"'Mione, this thing is a phone and it has the World Wide Wand, e-mail, GPS, and I can listen to music!" Ron exclaimed. "It's brilliant!" He swept me up in a hug that lifted me off my feet. I returned his enthusiasm with a meaningful kiss.

"Thank you." I said to him as he set me down, for this would make my life simpler.

"And thank you!" Ron said. He couldn't help himself but to sweep me up again. I giggled, lightheartedly. There was some coincidence in the fact that both of us had purchased a version of an M-phone for each other.

x

"Is it because we know each other well or because our lives have come down to these little magictronic thingies?" Ron questioned as he examined his phone. Breakfast was over and the living room was still littered with wrapping paper and gifts. Willa had barely come out of her playhouse for breakfast but we loved that she was enjoying her Christmas morning.

"A bit of both I suppose." I responded. I cleared the last dish from the sink and levitated it to the cabinet. I spun around to get the living room clean but Ron was a step ahead of me. He waved his wand over the living room and then smiled proudly at me. "Thank you." I turned to gather Willa's new clothes to pack her for the days ahead in England.

A half hour later we were nearly ready to depart for the Burrow. I had managed to take a very cranky Willa from her playhouse and dress her while Ron got the playhouse upstairs and her new toys packed. Willa was now dressed in a red dress with black leggings with a red bow in her hair. She clutched Teddy in her hand and chased Mimi around the room. As I tied my hair back into a braid and watched Willa, my new _PalmWiz_ began to ring. I had yet to explore the features of the phone or add any contacts in but I answered it anyways.

"Hello?" I questioned as I tied a green ribbon at the end of my braid. I smoothed my dark green tunic that I wore with black leggings.

"Hi," replied Ron's voice on the other line.

"Ron!" I laughed. "You're upstairs."

"Yes, Hermione, and you're downstairs." Ron said slowly. I returned his comment with silence. "Ok, should I wear the blue shirt or the black shirt?" Ron questioned.

"The green one that you just opened like an hour ago." I answered.

"So the green one with my jeans?" Ron questioned. I could hear his feet on the stairs. I ended the call and shoved my new phone into my purse. "You just hung up on me!" Ron exclaimed. I shook my head as Ron picked up his green shirt sitting on the couch.

I started to get our stuff together to send to the Burrow as Ron headed back upstairs. Moments later I was greeted by a chiming sound. I sought my new phone out of my purse and saw that I received a message.

_You look great!! _

I smiled at the message and stuffed it back into my bag. Calling from another room to test out his phone was one thing but sweet little messages weren't so bad. Ron came down the stairs, moments later wearing his green button down shirt and a pair of dark jeans.

"How do I look?" he asked Willa. She ignored him and tugged on Mimi's tail. "I knew it, I should go change." Ron said. He turned around and started up the stairs I tugged on his arm and pulled him back to me.

"We've got to get going." I said. He leaned forward and planted a kiss on my nose before I realized how late we were going to be.

x

It took ten minutes for us to gather all of our things together but finally we Apparated to the Burrow.

"Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!" Molly exclaimed as she opened the door. The Burrow was covered with its usual Christmas decorations and the unmistakable smell of Christmas cookies filled the house.

George, Alicia and the twins were already inside. George was trying to make Amber and Autumn laugh while Alicia was sitting cross-legged on the floor organizing presents that they bought for the children. Both new parents looked happy, bringing me back to several months ago when I listened as George anxiously spoke to Ron about the recent pregnancy news. The change between then and now was amazing.

"You're here!" Alicia exclaimed. She jumped up from the ground and hurried to see Willa in Molly's arms.

"Hi-hi!" Willa exclaimed as she had when she saw her grandparents. George smiled and lifted his daughters up, holding one in each arm.

"Hey there Willa." George said. "Can you say hi to your cousin, girls?" George asked his two one-month-olds. Amber's mouth opened in a yawn while Autumn just blinked.

"Hi Amber! Hi Autumn!" I exclaimed. I smiled and lifted up the twin nearest to me. George carefully handed Ron, Amber. He smiled as he watched his daughters stare up at Ron and I with curiosity. Willa squirmed in Alicia's arms to take a look at the babies in our arms.

"Bay-be-z!" she exclaimed gleefully. There was a knock on the door again. Molly and Arthur hurried out of the room to greet the newly arrived family.

"Happy Christmas!" Tonks announced as she entered the living room of the Burrow.

"Happy Christ-a-mas!" Penny exclaimed, running past Tonks' feet and into the living room. She had a small bag full of toys in her hand. As soon as she entered the living room, she dumped them out and began sorting through her toys. Willa squirmed in Alicia's arms trying to wiggle her way down so that she could play with Penny.

"Play nicely." I said to Willa and gave the ok for Alicia to let Willa down. Willa hurried off to play while I took Autumn to say hello to Tonks and Lupin.

Within the hour more family showed up until it was a full house. The children's gifts were stacked high beneath the Burrow's Christmas tree while Lex, Cecilia, Penny, Max, Greg, Willa, and Lily played. (Amber and Autumn took turns resting in everyone's arms until their little eyes closed and George and Alicia took them up to George's old room to sleep.)

The presents for Secret Santa were stacked beneath the tree as well. I saw a box for me but was unsure who had me. I talked with Alicia and Fleur (surprisingly not about the children. We spoke about our favorite TV show about Healers and all the drama in the hospital as well as their personal lives).

"Present time!" Molly announced entering the room with a pile of gifts trailing her wand. Everyone gathered around the tree while Arthur began to sort through the other gifts. I lifted Willa up from her play circle. She protested with "no"s until she saw the large pile of wrapped gifts.

"Me! Me!" she exclaimed joyfully.

"Some are yours Munchkin." Ron said as I passed her to him and fell into a seat next to them.

"Ok, here we go." Arthur said. This one is for Maxy." Max clapped while the gift passed hands until it reached Max. Alison held his hands still so he wouldn't open the gift until everyone had one. "Penny…" Arthur sorted through the gifts and passed them around so everyone had their stacks.

"Are we ready?" Molly asked. I looked at the large box in my lap. _To: Hermione. Love: S.S. _Willa had a small stack of gifts next to her and Ron had his own Secret Santa gift on his lap.

"One…two…three!" Arthur said and the excited children began tearing at the paper on their gifts. It was obvious that tearing the paper off gifts was more entertaining than the actual gifts themselves.

"What's that?" I asked Willa as she proudly showed me a brand new doll.

"Da!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, a new doll." I said. "Can you say thank you to Uncle Bill, Auntie Fleur, Lex, and Cilley?" Willa smiled but dropped the doll when Ron handed her a wrapped clothing box from Auntie Ginny, Uncle Harry, and Lily. Ron and I laughed while she tossed the brand new dress aside and started in on the next one. Ron and I each started opening the gifts from our Secret Santas. "Oh wow!" I said as I opened my gift. A brand new turquoise purse was inside of the box along with things inside of the purse. I pulled out a stack of witch flicks, a hand lotion/body spray set, new sunglasses, a beautiful new bracelet, and a picture frame with a picture of Willa, Lily, Ginny, and I. I looked up and smiled at Ginny who was looking at me with a smile on her face. On her lap she had an open box with a set of very nice (and expensive) set of jewelry from, Percy, who had her for Secret Santa.

"Do you like it?" she asked. I nodded.

"I love it." I said. "Thank you!"

"Mama!" Willa called, interrupting me. "Ook!" she exclaimed, showing me her new purple Uggs from Uncle Fred and Auntie Angie.

"Ooo, new shoes." Although they didn't match, I helped her put her feet into her new shoes. I looked over at Ron who was examining his gift. From Lupin, who had Ron for Secret Santa, Ron received some new wizard rock band CD's, a few WDVD's, and a photo album with pictures from when we were thirteen to present.

"Thanks, these are awesome!" Ron said excitedly to Lupin after inspecting his new loot. He turned to Willa who was showing off her new shoes to everyone. I laughed. The girl loved shoes!

"Ron, Hermione, thank you this is wonderful!" Molly exclaimed as she and Arthur opened their gifts from us.

"Sho! Sho!" Willa exclaimed gleefully, showing off her shoes to her Grammy. Ron laughed and lifted Willa up. She giggled fiercely as he spun her around in her new shoes. Molly snapped a picture while I watched and smiled. I loved Christmas and everything that went along with it.

"Ok, I have gifts for everyone." Molly announced. She lifted her wand and waved it elegantly a few times. Eight flat, square, wrapped packages flew from the closet and spread out through the room.

"We spent days gathering the stuff and putting it together." Arthur said. He smiled and put his arm around Molly. Ron and I began to tear the paper from ours, revealing a large frame with a collage of pictures. In the center there was a large picture of the Weasley family and the Lupins. Around that were candid picture of Ron, Willa, and I from the past year including a few with friends and family members. All of the pictures showed us at our happiest.

"ME!" Willa exclaimed. She squirmed in Ron's arms. "Mama!" she exclaimed. "Dada!" she pointed out us in the pictures.

"Yes Munchkin, that's us!" Ron said. Everyone thanked Molly and Arthur for their hard work on a priceless gift that would hang in our homes.

"Snowball fight time!" George announced. I laughed as the entire room began to get excited. There were some traditions that would never cease and that was fine. As I stood up and brushed myself off I looked around the room.

Alicia and George held their now-awake daughters who were curiously looking around the room. Amber smiled at George's funny face while Autumn made her own silly face. Alicia laughed at all of them. It was nice to watch the brand new family who were enjoying their first Christmas together.

I turned my attention to Fred who lifted Angelina up and tossed her over her shoulder. She laughed happily as he spun her around and promised to go easy on her with. As much as Molly pressured them with the idea of having children, Fred and Angelina were fine for now, the two of them a childless family.

"Not Daddy's wand, Greg!" Penelope exclaimed while sparks shot from Percy's wand. Greg giggled at the sparks while Percy calmly took the wand from him and gently waved it, causing multi-colored sparks to shoot from the end. Greg clapped while Penelope fell into a chair, trying to calm herself down. She smiled and laughed as Greg jumped to reach the sparks. The three of them were an interesting family. I could see Greg becoming like Percy with a small twist of Fred and George in the mix.

"Awwwww." Ginny said as she watched Harry waltz around the room with Lily in his arms. The little Lily flower looked just like her mother but with her father's eyes. She was full of Weasley and Potter mischief but the little girl had a better sense of fashion than most adults! I smiled as Harry pulled Ginny into the dance and Lily giggle happily. They were the fashionable…but fun family.

I was nearly knocked off my feet as Penny ran past me, dancing and laughing happily. Tonks chased after her while Lupin laughed and snapped pictures of his two favorite girls in the world. This family was very extraordinary, one metamorphing little girl with a spunky personality, one very funky metamorphing mother with a loving and fun personality, and one werewolf father who would do just about everything for his family with a caring and humor-filled personality.

Almost getting knocked on my face, I spun around to see Max fly by my feet on a toy broom. Charlie and Alison followed him, taking care not to let him fall but they were trying to let him do this on his own. Max laughed and his parents couldn't help but laugh along as well. The adventurous family were very firm on taking risks and letting Maz learn on his own.

"Boo!" Lex exclaimed, startling Cecilia (or Cilley as her parents call her) from the picture frame she was looking at. She screamed.

"Lex!" she shouted. "Not fun!" Lex laughed while Cecilia pouted until Bill lifted her into his arms and made her laugh. Fleur swooped in and lifted her two and a half year old son up.

"No, zat eez mean Lex." Fleur said as she began to help him into his snow gear. Both children were a mix of both of their parents, both delicate but with a wild side. Even Bill and Fleur were a little bit of both. The well blended family fit perfectly together.

My gaze turned to the head of the entire family. Molly helped Arthur put on the sweater she knitted for him as she explained that if dinner was cooking on time then she would come out to play in the snow as well. Arthur planted a kiss on her lips and hugged her tightly as he looked around at the large family that together, they had started. It was nice to still see them, the head of this amazing family, still in love after seven kids and all these years.

"Ready to play in the snow?" Ron asked. He sat Willa down to take off her new boots and exchange them for snow boots.

"No! Sho!" Willa cried, ready to begin sobbing. I was about to intervene when Ron waved his wand and an interesting pattern of penguins appeared on her snow boots. Willa's scrunched up expression changed to an amazed one. She smiled happily and reached for the shoes. Ron let her hold one while he laced the other one up on her feet. Getting her to wear another pair of shoes from now on was going to be very difficult. When Ron was done getting Willa all bundled up for the snow she waddled around like the penguin on her boots.

"Sno! Sno!" she exclaimed, waddling around the living room. She hurried over to Lily who was bundled up just as much. "Sno!" she exclaimed.

"Ready?" Ron asked. He held out my puffy jacket for me. I stuck my arms into it and smiled.

"Yes, I am." I said. I pulled on a knitted hat and the gloves that went with it. Ron, Willa, and I were our own unique family. Both Ron and I were different and our differences passed to our daughter who was unique in her own way.

Each Weasley, Lupin or Potter brought their own personalities to make one very large family who fit together in different ways. It made for one hell of a fun family that I felt was a nice family for my daughter to grow up in.

"I get Willa on my team." Ron called as the family headed for the door.

"And I get Ron and Willa!" Angelina called.

"My team gets Hermione!" Fred called. He ran ahead and lifted Angelina over his shoulder. Her laugh echoed through the backyard.

For two hours everyone stood outside in the freezing cold, throwing snowballs at each other and making a very strange family of snowpeople. As we all sat by the fire later that night, listening to Arthur read with Cecilia sitting in his lap, staring desperately at the words, I thought about all the new traditions that this year brought. This Christmas we had two new additions to the family who added some cheer to the whole day. Although we all just barely fit in all the rooms in the house with everyone, it was nice to have the entire family together. Knowing that next year would bring a brand new addition (currently residing in Ginny's womb), new things for Willa, and plenty new family traditions was something to look forward to.

**I'll update again in 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	22. Endings and Beginnings

**a/n: ok so midterms just ended today and I finished another chapter...I know you all are thinking 'finally' and I'm very sorry that it takes me so long to get the chapters up but I am soooo busy lately. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and as soon as I can I will update again. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Every story has an end. But in life, every ending is just a new beginning. Ray, Uptown Girls_

Fairytales all end the same way…and then that's it. We don't find out what happily ever after means, we're just supposed to believe that the princess really did live happily ever after. In reality, there is no abrupt ending after we say happily ever after because we know that there's more to come. When a relationship ends, it may not be apparent at the beginning, but eventually there will be someone else. When one of the greatest years of my life ends, a new year begins for a whole new chance to make this year the greatest.

So when something ends, there's that period of sadness as you miss what's gone but it can all be turned around with the realization that a new beginning is coming.

"…and they lived happily ever after." I closed the book of fairytales and Willa tried to open it again.

"Mo! Mo!" she instructed.

"I just read you Cinderella, and Snow White twice, little lady." I protested. I looked at my watch. Seven p.m. California time means it's three a.m. England time. Our sleeping schedules were very messed up. Willa slept through most of the time we spent at Granddad's this morning and now she was wide awake just as she was, twenty-four hours ago at the Burrow.

"Mo!" Willa said. She got the book from my hands and started flipping through pages. I sighed and looked around the bedroom that I'd lived in for almost twelve full years. Most things were the same except for the missing spaces where things that were now in my home, had resided. My mother told me unexpectedly that we should stay the entire day tomorrow and while I was here, I could clean out my old bedroom so that she could turn it into a craft room. I sighed heavily; there had been a lot of redecorating since the divorce.

The worst part of it was seeing my parents and their separate lives. They were both retired now. Mum took sporadic trips with my Aunt Connie and went to her craft meetings, book clubs, and volunteering. Dad on the other hand, goes golfing, has dinner with friends one night a week, goes through libraries and book stores, trying to find some good books, and often has his neighbor Ms. Craig (or Bonnie as he calls her) over. Apparently she's been very kind to him since he's moved in. It didn't take a moron to see that there was something going on there. When she came over to see "Ritchie's grandbaby" I discovered that she was a nice lady only a few years younger than my father, who made very good cookies. It was weird seeing my father with someone other than my mother...although he never quite admitted that they were officially together.

"Ree!" Willa said, pointing to the page about Sleeping Beauty.

"Last one." I said to her. "Ok my Should-Be-Sleeping Beauty?" Willa pointed to the page and I began to read. She did start to get sleepy and finally fell asleep lying in my arms. I sighed yet again, thinking of poor Ron in the guest room. Although Mum had been slightly more decent towards Ron since last year, she still was not kind to him. He was in a sleeping bag on the guest room (in the process of being redecorated) floor.

Slowly, my eyes shut as well and my breathing began to fall into a slow rhythm before I was finally asleep.

x

Morning was not a pleasant time. Mum tried to wake us up at eight as if we all had been sleeping for eight full hours like she had. Willa cried and cried until Ron finally got her back to sleep. It was now nine and Ron and I were sitting in the kitchen while Mum served us breakfast. I almost felt like a child again.

"Really Hermione, I know that you prefer to be _fashionable_ but honestly you aren't setting a good example for your daughter wearing _that_." Now I completely felt like a child again. "You too Ron. You kids act like its summer." She shook her head at us and placed a plate of pancakes covered in some strange syrup-like substance that lacked sugar in front of each of us. Both Ron and I looked down at our clothes. Ron was wearing a pair of ripped jeans with a blue t-shirt that bore it's usual funny saying. I was wearing a pair of jeans with a black sweater, it was slightly on the thin side and it rested on my shoulders, exposing the thin strap of the tank top underneath but it wasn't as if I was parading outside in this without a jacket.

"We live in California." Ron reminded her incase she had forgotten. "It's not as cold as it is here."

"Oh, yes, I forgot about that." Mum said but she hadn't. "Well, you might not have snow Ronald, but those earthquakes are much worse." Here it comes...the California lecture.

"Nothing is worse than this." Ron muttered to me as he spit out the pancakes into a napkin behind Mum's back. The "syrup" wasn't really that good.

"Ron, would you mind moving a few boxes into the attic for me while Hermione cleans out her bedroom?" Mum asked as if the whole discussion before hadn't happened. "I think that if there is more than one person in the room, then Willa might wake-up."

"Sure." Ron said through gritted teeth. Without thinking he shoved another forkful of pancakes into his mouth that he had to swallow because Mum was watching him. He looked at me for help but all I could do was shrug helplessly, for in this house I was no more than a twelve-year-old girl.

x

"…and they lived happily ever after." The story ended once again, coming from Ron this time. Willa excitedly opened the book again for more while Mum glanced up disapprovingly from her knitting at Willa's outfit and the choice of reading material. She didn't like the purple dress with short sleeves, black tights and purple Uggs on Willa and she had never approved of fairytales and the messages they send. I smiled, I liked the idea of letting a child believe in anything, including a happily ever after. I crossed my legs and turned myself on the couch to watch Ron picking through the stories again until he chose Snow White. "Once upon a time…" The smile on Willa's face as Ron started the story was amazing.

The doorbell rang.

"Oh, I'll get it." Mum said. She hopped up quickly. She hurried to the door. I stood up and peered in the hallway to see Mum talking to a tall, thin, balding man with a bunch of letters in his hand. The way her voice sounded as I listened to their conversation, he could have been asking her to dinner instead of talking about the weather and Christmas. It was suddenly obvious that this mailman was a _good_ friend of Mum's and by the way it sounded, he may be on his way to being more.

As strange as it was to think of my parents with other people, I supposed it was inevitable. Their marriage ended because they were still looking for the right ones. Now that they had some possible candidates, it was time to begin something new.

I fell back on the couch in the living room as Ron was explaining about how the prince came to rescue Snow White.

"…and they lived happily ever after." Ron said. He smiled at me and I smiled back while Willa asked for more. I suppose that they deserved their happily endings and beginnings too…and to get there, they had to begin something new.

x

New Years was always a big event, no matter where we celebrated. This year Harry and Ginny were having a party that just about everyone we knew was attending. Normally the children would spend the night at the Burrow but this year, Ginny had a special place for the children to enjoy the New Year in.

"It's the baby's nursery," she explained as she showed us the newly magically constructed room in their apartment. "We're waiting to figure out how to decorate it." she said, hinting towards the fact that again, she knew it was a boy while Harry was positive it would be a girl.

"Toy! Toy!" Willa shouted, stretching from my arms to reach the toys. The nursery was full of them.

"She'll be safe." Ginny informed me. "This room is completely baby proof, even for magical babies." I set Willa down and she started off running towards all of the magnificent toys. It wouldn't be long before her pretty pink party dress was ruined but at least she was having fun. The doorbell rang and Ginny went to answer it while Harry brought Lily over in her very fancy party dress. Ron followed him, wearing something nice for the party as well. I had on a black Ginny Potter dress, picked out especially for me by Ginny Potter herself.

"Here we go Lils." Harry said, placing his daughter in the room as well. Lily hurried over to play with Willa.

"We're here!" Sasha announced happily from the living room.

It was time for the party to begin.

x

"Oh Eli loves that show!" Susan Bones-Smith said. Since we hadn't spoken in a while, we started talking and like most of my conversations, it revolved around the children.

"Willa does too. I have to pry her away from the television set when it's on and we have to go." I replied.

"Eli screams if I take him away." Susan laughed as we headed towards the room where the children were. "He's quite the handful but I wouldn't trade him for the world." As we got to the room we noticed that Ron and Zacharis were already there.

"No way!" Ron said, excitedly. "Willa will be on that team and there's no contest!"

"Eli is only eight months old but he already shows exceptional talent at Chasing!" Zacharis protested.

"Oh yeah, how?" Ron taunted.

"I'll show you!" Zacharis said. He and Ron marched into the room where the children were. Little Elijah was crawling around the ground when Zacharis picked him up. He looked up at his father in confusion while Zacharis grabbed a soft ball from the floor. "Go ahead Eli, toss it into that hoop." Zacharis waved his wand so that a circle appeared in the air. Elijah smiled and threw the ball as hard as he could. This seemed to be a game that the two played often. "Nice one!" Zacharis exclaimed. Elijah smiled as his father held him up and smiled at Ron.

"Oh please." Ron said. He lifted up Willa from playing a game of roll the ball with Lily, Penny, and Lex. "Willa could have caught that if you gave her a broom and a chance." Both Ron and Zacharis looked as if an idea struck but then they both looked at their children and shook their heads.

"You're on!" Zacharis exclaimed. "As soon as they both can fly a toy broom safely, we'll see."

"Definitely!" Ron agreed. He and Zacharis shook hands to seal the deal.

"Dada!" Willa protested, trying to wiggle her way out of Ron's arms. Ron set Willa down and she quickly rejoined her game. Elijah was starting his own wiggle maneuver to escape his father's arms until Zacharis put him down. Elijah began crawling around, curiously looking at the group rolling the ball. "Play?" Willa asked him. She rolled the ball to Elijah and he hit it back with his hand. He moved closer and then set himself into a sitting position next to the others.

"See, they can play without competition." Susan told Ron and Zacharis. She smiled down at the small circle of children. "Looks like we might have a future romance between these two to look forward to." Susan joked, noticing that Elijah would only pass the ball to Willa. I smiled and glanced at Ron.

"No!" he said quickly. Susan, Zacharis and I both stared at him. "I mean…" he began scratching his neck nervously. "She's five months older than him. It would never work." Ron said.

"Eh hem." I coughed. Was I not five months older than him?

"Oh, I forgot." Ron said, scowling. He stared from Willa to Elijah for a moment. "Ok, ok…I'm not going to lie, Willa is just not dating whether or not they like each other."

"Why?" Zacharis asked with an eyebrow raised, he seemed almost insulted.

"Because my daughter will not date anyone." Ron informed him.

"Well I hate to break it to you but when she's sixteen and away at Hogwarts, you can't control whether or not she falls for my son." Zacharis protested.

"We'll see about that." Ron said. "There may be some anti-love spell out there and if not I'll create one." Zacharis laughed.

"That still won't keep them apart." Zacharis said. "Face it Weasley, we'll be in-laws one day."

"In-laws?" Ron asked, terrified. "Who said anything about marriage Smith?" Susan and I shook our heads while the argument turned from their marriage to whether or not they would even be interested in each other.

"She's a Gryffindor. He's a Hufflepuff." Ron argued.

"You don't know that." Zacharis said. "She could be a Hufflepuff."

"She is a Gryffindor!" Ron said sternly. "Maybe he'll be a Gryffindor."

"So you admit that they could fall for each other!" Zacharis exclaimed.

"No, what I mean is she isn't dating!" Ron said.

"I'm sorry but you do realize that they are only one and eight months, right?" I questioned. They stared at me as if I was interrupting some important debate. "Never mind." I said. Susan and I looked at each other and laughed before shaking our heads and walking out of the room.

x

All of the children but Willa and Phinny were asleep during the final half-hour of the year. Unfortunately their sleeping schedules were off as it was only two-thirty in the afternoon in California. Luna held Phinny in her arms while he shouted baby gibberish for attention. Willa wandered around the party, talking to people since all of her friends were sleeping…that was until Amber and Autumn began to cry from Lily's room.

"Hi-hi!" Willa said to Sasha and Trey. She pulled herself onto the couch and settled herself on Trey's lap.

"Hey Wil." Trey said, smiling at her. She smiled and pulled her trusty fairytale book out.

"Ree! Pease!" she said. Sasha smiled and put a hand on her extending stomach. I fell on the couch next to Sasha in exasperation. Chasing a one-year-old around a party was a lot of work.

"Which fairytale do you want me to read?" Trey asked her. Willa pointed to a random one. "Once upon a time…"

"Oh, the baby likes this one too." Sahsa said with a laugh, resting a hand on her stomach. Trey continued to read to Willa and his kicking unborn child while I found Ron.

"Only five more minutes." Ron said, hugging me. "And Ginny's out cold again." He gestured to a chair where his sister sat, sleeping peacefully. "She never makes it."

"To be fair she is pregnant." I told him. "And last year she had a newborn baby, and the year before that she was tired out from the wedding."

"But she never makes it." Ron said, smiling. "No matter what, she's dead asleep at midnight on New Years Day." I shook my head and laughed. "Come on, let's go get Willa." he said to me.

x

"Only two minutes until the ball drops," announced Rod Ryans from the WTV set. "Prepare to toast to the New Year!"

Willa was given a noise maker to blow into the New Year. She was now having too much fun blowing it. Uncle Harry held her in his arms while he handed her a bottle of juice. Luckily she dropped the noise maker to drink.

"Ready?" Ron asked. I smiled at him, prepared to answer.

"Yes." I said. "I'm ready" He wrapped his arms around me as the countdown began. Harry stood next to us with Willa in his arms since his wife was now asleep in her bedroom.

"60…59…58…57…56..." I smiled even bigger as I thought about the past year in California and how the three of us had made a home. Our daughter had grown so much in the past year, The Weasley family had new additions, I started school, my parents divorced but were on their way to finding their happiness with their respective someone elses, Ginny and Harry finally got married, Neville and Luna had Phinny… In the past year so much had happened. The past year had helped us start our lives but in the coming year we would be able to live them, watching Willa grow, the Weasley family grow more and more, and just enjoy life as it came. This was our first year in California but it was the first of many to come and I was ready for the next one.

"5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!"

Ron pulled me closer and pressed his lips against mine.

"Happy New Year my love." he said, smiling. He turned to lift Willa from Harry's arms. "Happy New Year Munchkin!" She was cheering although she didn't know why. I reached over to kiss Willa's cheek and then I hugged Harry while others around us cheered on the New Year.

I was excited. Tomorrow…or today, when we got home it would be a whole new year to live. This one was over and stored in my memory forever. Another one was already a minute in and more memories were to come. It was just beginning…

**PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	23. Making A Difference

**a/n: hello again!! I have finished the next chapter and I'm working on 25 but I realize that I've almost run out of ideas for what to write about. I mean, I can come up with some but if anyone had any ideas at all about a chapter they would like to read please let me know. A trip somewhere...a ..I don't know anything that would fit into Ron and Hermione's lives.**

**Thanks and please review!!!!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Nothing gets done when you sit on your bum. –Anna (a faithful reviewer)_

_I love the women who have fought to change the world and made a difference. I want to be one of them myself. –Drew Barrymore_

When I was fifteen I made a promise to myself that I would do something great to change the world. I wanted to be someone you saw when you flipped through a magical history book. Hermione Granger: set house-elves free and made a difference in the world. I have a slight mark made upon the world with my book and being cofounder of HLF (House-elf Liberation Front) but other than that, I've done nothing more for this important cause..

Inspired by the most recent news about the _Homes for Free House-elves Foundation _started by Helen, I decided I needed to get back to doing something good for house-elves. It started with the idea of starting an HLF chapter in California but I needed to do something meaningful to get it going. Sitting around, waiting for the house-elves to free themselves wasn't going to help anything. Something big needed to be done in hope of inspiring others to join the cause and showing my daughter it's important to fight for what you believe in.

"Great, we'll see you on Sunday." I hit the end button on the M-home phone and began making more notes into my nearly full notebook. The guest list was almost completely full. Nearly everyone had RSVPed and Luna was taking care of the theme and menu since it was being held at her house.

After brainstorming with Luna (who was very interested in HLF), we came up with the idea to have a tea party…a traditional English tea party in California for mothers and daughters. The part where we would be helping the house-elves would come when the guests paid for their spot at the party. Going even further, we brought Ginny into it. Ginny was getting things together to start an L.A. branch of Ginny Potter so to introduce the Ginny Potter line of dresses to California they would be featured at this event along with her accessories. In honor of the event, she would also be introducing a line for house-elves. A portion of what Ginny made off of the dresses would go to the _Homes for Free House-elves Foundation_.

The party was all planned. Luna offered up her home to use as the location of the party. Excluding Sasha and Helen, the guest list mostly included influential women from California and their daughters. Some were actresses, others were big names in other industries but the party was definitely filled with people who could get this cause known by taking an interest in it.

"Mama!" Willa called. I lifted my head up and turned to see Willa calling me because her movie had ended.

"Come on little lady, it's time to go for a walk anyways." I said. Willa smiled and jumped up.

"Wak!" she exclaimed. She hurried to the closet where her shoes were kept. "Sho!" she exclaimed happily. I laughed and opened the closet so she could pick a pair out.

x

"Are the caterers here?" I asked as my car stopped in front of Luna's house.

"They're setting up on the upper and lower decks." Luna informed me serenely. "And Neville just left with Phinny to go visit Gran."

"Great." I said, smiling. I removed Willa from her car seat while Luna grabbed things from the trunk. The event for house-elves was finally coming together after almost a month and I was excited to see how it turned out.

"Ginny is inside too. She's picked out something for all of us to wear." Luna informed me as we started towards her marvelous house.

I went into complete party planning mode from there. Willa and Lily played in the living room while Ginny watched over them. Luna and I took to making sure everything was perfect before anyone started to arrive.

Willa's dress was a pretty green one that Ginny had designed especially for her goddaughter. It was a soft fabric, short-sleeved, and Willa wore it with tights. It completely embodied Willa's style (well the style of whatever I picked out for her to wear), showing that Ginny had a good idea of what she was doing when designing a dress. Lily's dress was a beautiful pale pink that brought out the princess in the girl. The one that Ginny designed for Luna was very unique and bohemian in white with light blue accents. Ginny's was a mix of fun and fancy. It was red and fell just at her knee with an elegant v-neck. Mine was a black and white empire dress that went perfectly with my black flats. We all looked very elegant for our tea party but we were very eager for the guests to arrive.

A surprising sound (which turned out to be the doorbell) startled me.

_Bing, Ping, Ring-a-Ding!_

Luna's doorbell echoed loudly throughout the house. It was one of the strangest doorbells that I had ever heard. Willa and Lily were fascinated by it and stared up at the roof while Luna hurried to go answer the door.

"Hermione, it has been too long!" I smiled as I saw Helen follow Luna up the stairs. "And is this…" Helen took a step back after hugging me and smiled at Willa.

"Yes, this is my daughter, Willa Elizabeth." I informed her. Willa looked up from her game momentarily to smile at Helen.

"Hermione, she looks just like you!" Helen exclaimed, still wearing a brilliant smile. "And you look so tan! California sun is a wonderful thing. I remember spending a year here during all of my traveling…" Helen started a story. For a witch of seventy-nine, she looked good for her age. Her blond hair was gracefully making the transition to white while the lines on her face showed that she had lived and enjoyed it plenty. Helen wore a navy blue wrap dress with a pair of matching shoes. "…those times were fun," she said, smiling. "I'm so happy that HLF is starting to branch out. With all the details I've heard, we may have to make this an annual thing. Are the house-elves coming?"

"Yes." I said, smiling happily. "I've contacted seven of them who have come out of enslavement, made it on their own, and now have a family. They're really excited to be here and help out the ones who are in the places they were."

"Wonderful!" Helen exclaimed. I went through the rest of the details with her and then we brought her to the lower-deck where racks of Ginny's beautiful dresses were waiting to be browsed through. Waiters with trays of champagne and apple juice were waiting there to serve the mothers and daughters browsing.

"Amazing…simply amazing!" Helen declared as she browsed the racks and took out a few for herself to buy. Ginny smiled happily. She was very pleased that Helen liked her dresses but she knew that the real critics were the women in California who would truly determine how the dresses would sell in a LA boutique.

_Bing, Ping, Ring-a-Ding!_

The doorbell rang again and Willa and Lily giggled and attempted to repeat the sound. I smiled giddily.

"Tea time!" I announced. I was incredibly excited for this charity event to begin.

x

"Hi." I said shyly with my wand pointed at my throat. In the audience I could hear Willa saying, "Tat Mama!" and Ginny replying, "Yes, Mama's going to make a speech." I looked out into the faces of the beautifully dressed Californian women, their daughters, and the few elegantly dressed female house-elves with their daughters at my tea party.

"First off, I would like to thank all of you for attending this event that Luna Lovegood-Longbottom and I put together on behalf of the house-elves that have recently come out of enslavement. All of your donations are greatly appreciated." The women in the room clapped and I could hear Willa again. I smiled and continued on. "I would like to thank Helen Williams for inspiring me to continue on with helping house-elves. She has done an amazing job starting the _Homes for Free House-elves Foundation_ which is what we're raising the money for." I paused again as everyone began clapping for Helen who was smiling. "And I also want to mention Ginny Potter, who has done an amazing job with the dresses. After tea, you're welcome to take a look on the lower deck. The dresses are really incredible and some of the proceeds will go to the _Homes for Free House-elves Foundation_. Within the next month there will be a new Ginny Potter boutique opening up." Everyone clapped again. "I really hope you all enjoy the tea party. Downstairs by the dresses, there's a guestbook where you can sign up to join our California House-elf Liberation Front where we will have plenty more fundraisers and later, Loretta and Isla will share their stories of how they came to be where they are." I smiled again as they clapped and the caterers began to walk around with trays. I abandoned my post in the front and hurried to my table with Willa, Ginny, Lily, Sasha, Luna, Becki, Anna, Jenna, Jenna's niece Holly, Helen, and Helen's daughter Pippa were sitting.

"Mama!" Willa called when she saw me.

"Hi baby!" I sat down next to her high chair as Becki filled up my teacup.

"Wonderful!" Sasha declared. Her hands rested on her extended stomach. She was very excited for her own daughter to be coming in a few months.

"Thanks." I smiled bashfully and began getting a plate together of things that Willa could eat.

The eating and tea portion of the event went on for some time. As soon as Willa got fussy and began throwing her food, I took her from her chair and began to walk around and mingle with the women to see how many of them were interested in joining HLF. There were an assortment of women from all different careers. The actresses: Brooke, Satine, Serena, Piper, Gisele, and Ireland; the high-powered Wizard Lawyers: Jessica, Angela, Danielle, Stephanie, and Emily; the very famous Healers: Sydney, Daisy, Grace, Yoanna, and Victoria; the successful publishers: Lucy, Mia, Sarah, and Julie; the high-up bankers: Zoe, Abby, and Jill; the big business executives: Jessie, Taylor, Maggie, Fiona, Stacy, Sam, and Lynn; the women in the fashion business: Evette, Selia, Vivian, Lourdes, Renee, Roxanne, and Paige; the women whose husbands were directors and such in the entertainment business (Luna's friends): Tess, Laney, Isabel, Jane, and Polly; the women who were directors and such in the entertainment business (Luna's friends): Anise, Estella, Margie, Chelsea, Caroline, and Leslie; and the seven inspirational elves who came out of enslavement and were successful in their chosen fields: Loretta, Isla, Bernadette, Ursula, Cleo, Dolly, and Xanthe. Each of the women in attendance brought along their daughters or nieces who enjoying themselves thoroughly. Willa made friends with them as they started a game of catch with their fancy white gloves that they got bored with wearing.

Eventually the crowd migrated to the lower deck where the dresses were. Although the lower deck was smaller than the upper deck, all of the women managed to fit and were searching through the racks. Thanks to Ginny's quick spell work, there were no specific sizes because the dresses would fit whoever the wearer was. (This only made the dresses slightly more expensive.)

"Look Nicola, isn't this dress pretty?"

"Oh these earrings are perfect!"

"These dresses are really incredible, when is this boutique opening again?"

"Last time I was in Paris, I stopped by the store and it was absolutely beautiful. I'm so glad that I don't have to take a Portkey to France when I need a new dress now."

The reactions to the dresses and accessories were wonderful. Ginny began taking requests for certain dresses for parties and premieres. As all the dresses were purchased, I realized that whatever the percentage of the profit came out to be, it would be plenty to help out the _Homes for Free House-elves Foundation_ significantly as well as get things started here. I smiled and lifted Willa up in the air. She giggled.

"We did a very good thing today." I told her as we fell onto a chair in Luna's living room. I was in great need of taking a moment with my daughter to relax. I had been very stressed about this party for the past few weeks.

"Good?" Willa asked. She began playing with the locket that hung around my neck. It bore the Ginny Potter signature lily.

"Yes little lady. We raised money for all of the house-elves who are still enslaved by Wizards." I informed her. Willa strewed up her face in confusion. She didn't understand yet. The daughters of Loretta, Isla, Bernadette, Ursula, Cleo, Dolly, and Xanthe were just friends to her. I was pleased that she was born into a world where she could be friends with these girls instead of see them enslaved. I felt slightly more empowered. The efforts on my part as well as many others had helped bring about this change.

As the caterers signaled that the treats to go along with more tea were ready to be served, the crowd moved back up to the upper-deck. Dessert was served and I got up yet again to make the introductions for Loretta and Isla. Loretta began her speech first.

"I was born into a wizard family here in LA. It was all I knew to obey and follow through with the orders given to me. It went on for years until my mistress passed on and her children were left to order me around. They sold her house and since neither of them really wanted responsibility for a house-elf, I was given a hat and dismissed from their service. I sobbed for weeks and hid in the attic. I didn't know what to do with myself. Eventually I was discovered and thrown out. I wandered around the wizard neighborhoods begging for work. I nearly gave up, but one woman didn't slam the door in my face. She opened up her home to me but not as an employee. She let me stay with her to get back on my feet. It was a hard habit to break but I stopped hurting myself and learned to speak as if I was my own person. I found a job and worked my way to where I am now in the Wizard's Bank of America. I have a family and I owe it all to my dear friend, Caitlyn who took it in. May she rest in peace." Loretta's big eyes were filled with tears as she relived the experience. I clapped, really proud of her for achieving so much. Isla hugged Loretta before she began her speech.

"I is really happy to be here today to tell you the story. Isla–I was also born into a wizard family." Isla looked very sad. She was older than Loretta and still referred to herself in the third person at times. "I was being a s-slave for years. I had Isl–my family as a s-slave. My mistress was a very b-bad person who was a supporter of the D-Dark Lord and his p-pureblood beliefs. She was awful to my family but she had no children or family anywhere else. When she died, we was free. We was able to find jobs and we gots help from wizards who wanted us to be free. Now things is very good for my family and we is very happy. I even has a job where I is able to teach." She smiled as she finished. She was happy to share her story with others. It seemed to give her a sense of empowerment to share what happened to her. An idea struck and before I could process it, I was up in the front again.

"Thank you so much for sharing your stories with us." I said to my new friends who were on their way back to their seats. "It was really inspiring to know that we're helping others get to where you are now. Dedicated to all of the elves here, I am beginning a second book which will include stories like the ones Loretta and Isla shared with us today. Thank you to all who attended and as soon as Luna and I get everything together we'll begin having our HLF meetings."

x

"Hermione, this was wonderful. Let me know if I can do anything for the next meeting."

"Of course, bye Juliet." I waved to Emily and her daughter, Juliet as they stepped into Luna's fireplace.

"See you soon, Hermione!" Gisele and her daughter Nicola waved before going to find their car. I shifted Willa in my arms and waved again. Her head rested against my shoulder and her thumb was stuck firmly in her mouth. She was nearly asleep. The guests were slowly departing and gathering all of their purchases. Sasha was resting on a living room chair with her feet up on the coffee table, flicking through the channels with her wand (Luna and Neville had the premium package with nearly a zillion channels), Becki sat on the couch next to her with the guest book in her hands trying to get an idea of who was going to be a part of the California HLF, Ginny was going through the dress orders she took, Luna was trying to total up the money raised between the seats at the event and the percentage Ginny was contributing, and Lily and Anna were having their own little tea party at the coffee table and giggling. We were the last ones left.

"How'd we do?" I asked Luna anxiously. Luna looked up smiling serenely.

"With the last minute additions to the guest list and the incredible sales with Ginny's products we were over our goal. 24,826 Galleons, 3 Sickles, and 19 Knuts." Luna informed me. I smiled. We definitely passed our goal. "I'll take it to the bank tomorrow and have it wired over to Gringotts for the _Homes for Free House-elves Foundation_. I'll put the remainder in the California HLF account."

"Great!" I said, still smiling.

"Hello?" The sound of Neville's voice echoed up the stairs. He came into view with Phinny in his arms. Ron, Harry, Trey, and Paul followed him up the stairs.

"Dada!" Lily hurriedly ran to Harry who swooped her up in his arms.

"How did the tea party go?" Trey asked. He sat down with Sasha on the chair and rested his hands on her growing stomach.

"Great." Sasha answered smiling. She rested her head against his shoulder. Paul sat down next to Becki and rested his head against her shoulder.

"Anything left?" he asked curiously. Becki laughed while Luna pointed him to the upper-deck. Harry followed with Lily in his arms while Ron came to lift Willa from my arms.

"Someone's had a little too much fun," he noted as Willa tiredly rested her head against his shoulder. He kissed her head and sat down on the couch next to his pregnant sister.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Wonderful!" Ginny informed him. "Everything is all ready for the opening. I even was invited to display my line at LA's spring fashion week."

"Great." Ron said although he had no idea what she meant. He shut his eyes and leaned back against the couch with Willa resting against his chest. I got my notebook out yet again and began making more notes for the first meeting of HLF.

x

"It was amazing." I gushed to Ron. "I mean we invited all of these women who were famous enough to get recognized going to this charity event and every single one of them want to be apart of HLF. Ron there was even a photographer there at one point, taking pictures for a magazine." Ron smiled as he flipped his steak over on the grill. I carefully placed the final plate on the set table in the backyard.

"I'm proud of you." Ron informed me. "I mean, you really stuck to this cause and you're doing a great job." I smiled. Never once did I think Ron honestly cared about what I was doing with HLF. I figured he still thought it was as stupid as he did when I first started with SPEW. He abandoned the grill and wrapped his arms around me. I felt his lips press against my head and I smiled into his embrace. We let go and I leaned up to kiss him before going into the house to finish with the rest of dinner. I turned once again to see him kneel down to talk to Willa. "Your Mum is a good person," he informed her. "I hope you're just like her one day." He lifted her up and tickled her so she giggled fiercely. I smiled and continued on inside.

After the long day that I had been planning for weeks, I felt accomplished. So many things had been done not only today but in the past to help the cause but today I finally felt like I was beginning to help make a difference. Aside from knowing that I was going to help newly freed house-elves, the most important thing to know was that I was beginning to be someone Willa could look up to.

Now I was going to put much more effort into the cause and finally achieve my goal but at least I had plenty of people who would support me through it. Ron and Willa being my biggest supporters.

**REVIEW PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**


	24. Love and the Pain that Comes With It

**a/n: HELLO AGAIN!!!!!!!!! Ok so this chapter is a little different than the happier previous chapters. Let me know what you think please. I am working on 25 but I am working every night this week and last week I worked every night so I will try to get that up ASAP!!!! **

**PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!! I have an idea for the 26th chapter from a reviewer and I'll let you know who when it's up but I'm still taking more ideas!!!!!**

**Thanks!!! **

**Always,  
Kylie**

_The greater your capacity to love, the greater your capacity to feel the pain. –Jennifer Aniston _

An unknown author once said, "it is a fearful thing to love what death can touch". The ability to love is something most of us take for granted; the ability to feel pain is something most of us wish to avoid.

Pain and love go hand in hand: without love we would never really feel pain. The more love we have for someone, the pain is even greater at the risk of loosing that person forever.

"And the first day has finally come to a close!" Ginny announced as she locked the door to her new boutique. The shop looked similar to the ones in London and Paris. The signature Ginny Potter lilies filled the shop while mannequins modeled dresses. The racks of dresses and shelves of jewelry were in desperate need of being replenished but it was a good sign that the LA boutique was a success. Amanda and Layla, the two women Ginny hired to work in the LA branch of Ginny Potter, began to refill the dress racks from the back stockroom while Ginny began going over the day's sales. "Oh." Ginny stopped suddenly and put a hand to her stomach. She smiled at the baby's movement. "I can't wait till he's here," she informed me. "I really can't wait to have another child. I loved growing up in a big family." I smiled back at her.

"Or she." I reminded her. "When will you find out?"

"In two weeks, three days before Ron's birthday, I will prove you all wrong when the Healers say that it's a boy," she said smugly. I laughed.

"We'll see." I joked. Willa came running from her play corner with Lily following.

"Moo-sick Mama." Willa begged. Lately she had become quite the dancer. Ginny smiled and waved her wand. Loud, happy music filled the boutique as Willa and Lily began to move around. Willa's ears sparkled. On her day spent with Auntie Ginny and Lily in London yesterday, Ginny had taken Willa to get her ears pierced as a surprise. I had no objection other than the fact that I wish I knew beforehand but Ron was furious. He claimed that it could get infected and Ginny didn't ask him "if it was ok to put holes in my daughter's ears!" but I think the real reason was because he didn't want her to grow up any faster than she already was…and because he kind of hoped she would be a tomboy, putting off the interest in boys a little longer. "Moo-sick Mama!" Willa said, smiling. She and Lily were shaking it to the music so I joined in and twirled along with them, laughing. Ginny smiled while Willa and Lily tried to get Amanda and Layla to dance as well.

"Can you do the hop?" Amanda asked, demonstrating the move. Soon Willa and Lily were hopping around the shop, giggling loudly but at least they were enjoying themselves. Ginny smiled as she watched her knew employees dance around with her daughter and goddaughter. She realized that she made the right decision in the people who would run the place.

x

Three days before Ron's birthday, I was curled up next to Ron on the couch while we watched Harry's match on the television. Willa and Lily were playing a game on the living room floor but every so often Lily would acknowledge when Harry was seen chasing after something golden flickering in the sky. Ginny dropped Lily off with a promise to tell us the sex of her baby after she told Harry. She was off to check on how her boutique was doing. We promised to recap the match to her as soon as she got back.

I shifted comfortably in my black velour tracksuit…until Ron stood up abruptly when the timer for the popcorn went off.

"Sorry," he apologized. "But you always put too much salt on the popcorn so I've got to get to it first."

"Ya coulda said something." I noted gruffly as I picked myself off of the couch. I grabbed the empty glasses from the coffee table to refill them. "Do I put too much salt in the iced tea too? Would you like to get that for yourself?" I asked.

"Now that you mention it…" Ron joked. I swatted his arm playfully and refilled the glasses. I turned back to the television. Lee Jordan was commentating the match as he did for most professional matches. "Ginny should be back soon. Do you think we could have her watch Willa for a bit and I could take you out to dinner?" Ron questioned.

"Perhaps." I shrugged. "It depends on whether or not I actually want to eat dinner with you." Ron chuckled and placed the popcorn down on the table. He leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips.

"Ok, maybe we can…" I said. He smiled, satisfied while the phone began to ring.

"I got it," he said. He hurried to pick the phone off the receiver. "Hello?" he asked into the phone. "Hello Jacques. Great and you…" I smiled and fell back onto the couch to watch the match.

"There he goes again, in search of the snitch and apparently they both see it!" Lee Jordan's voice echoed from the television. The backdrop for the Quidditch match was a rainy mess. The storm raged on as Harry and the other seeker dove for the snitch. As they both got closer to the ground, neither of them pulled out of the dive. Harry went faster to try and get rid of the guy tailing him. It happened so fast that if I blinked at the wrong moment I could have missed it. My heart stopped and I stood from the couch, staring at the television as if it could rewind and change what just happened. The camera panned to Harry sprawled on the ground, pale and still. Healers rushed in.

The fall hadn't been from a great distance but the force he fell was enough to...

Tears sprang to my eyes as I called for Ron who had disappeared into the other room.

"Ron!" I yelled again, sobbing. The image of Harry lying on the ground, unmoving, made me shake. I desperately watched the screen, wanting someone who knew what was going on and could say if he was ok. Willa and Lily looked up from their game in curiosity while I continued to shake with tears. Ron hurried into the room with the phone at his ear.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He followed my gaze to the television where it was hard to see what was happening with all the Healers surrounding him.

"It's Harry." I whispered. Ron released the phone and it fell hard to the floor, shattering. I sobbed harder as the image of my best friend falling filled my mind. It took Ron a second to process what I said and what he saw. His face paled greatly but he hurried over and wrapped me in an embrace. My head was buried in his chest but I knew he was staring at the screen, waiting for the same answers I wanted. I turned my head and looked at the screen as well. This wasn't happening. It simply wasn't happening…everything Ginny was afraid of when he preformed his reckless stunts wasn't happening.

But yet it was.

On the screen the camera was still focused on Harry. Fred and Angelina, the ones in attendance of the match, were trying to push through and find out what was going on.

I was able to breathe again as I saw Healers levitate a stretcher with Harry into the air and then they were gone into thin air. He was going to St. Mungo's. He was alive and for now that was plenty to keep me going.

"Potter's been transported to St. Mungo's with no word on his condition," said Lee as he just received the information. Yet again I sobbed harder. What if he didn't make it?

Willa and Lily were now aware that something was going on. They watched curiously and any second they would begin to cry because I was sobbing like a maniac.

"We have to find out where Ginny is and get to St. Mungo's." Ron said. It sounded like it pained him to speak with a steady voice. Before we could move the front door opened and Ginny walked in with a grocery bag.

"Don't worry. The car is in one piece," she said. She placed her bag on the counter while I unsuccessfully tried to pull myself together. "What's wrong?" Ginny asked. She searched the room for her daughter to make sure that she was ok. Lily fearfully hurried to her mother and Ginny lifted Lily up and hugged her close.

"Gin," Ron began. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and looked down at the ground. Neither of us were able to tell her so Lee did the honors.

"Bishop is taking Potter's place to finish the match. Let's hope that he can bring the Falcons victory in honor of Potter."

"What happened?" Ginny asked suddenly. "Why is he being replaced? What happened to him?" She demanded answers from us that neither of us wanted to give. Willa hurried to me, scared from what was going on.

"No cry," she said, wiping at my cheeks.

"I don't know what happened." Ron said. "But they took him to St. Mungo's. He wasn't moving."

"He was doing the wonky feint and he fell really hard." I shakily informed her. For once no one corrected me on Harry's favorite stunt.

Ginny handed Lily to Ron. She walked into the living room and stared at the Quidditch match that went on without their seeker. She stopped for a moment before falling to her knees and sobbing into her hands. Ron was quickly at her side, wrapping an arm around her. She turned and sobbed into his shoulder while I retrieved Lily from his arms. As uncontrollable tears poured from my eyes I brought the two girls up stairs to get ready to take to St. Mungo's.

x

Ginny was a wreck as we Apparated into the lobby of St. Mungo's. Plenty of paparazzi were waiting around, trying to get some answers before their deadlines. Ginny pushed past them and around the desk. She didn't even stop as the woman behind the desk yelled to her. She held a crying Lily in her arms and marched past.

"Where is he?" she demanded to a Healer that was walking by. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"He's with Healers right now," he answered. It was obvious to him, whom he was speaking to but the way he cautiously spoke made me worry. "They're trying to save his life. I can escort you to the waiting room and let you know as soon as I know."

Ginny nodded feebly and tried to calm Lily.

"It's ok baby. Daddy is strong. H-he'll be fine." Ginny lost it again. Ron hurriedly retrieved Lily from his arms and both of them continued to cry.

Fred wrapped Ginny in an embrace the second we entered the waiting room. He held her close and let her sob.

"Do we know anything yet?" I asked, desperately. I was haunted with the image of Harry lying on the ground, deathly still. Angelina shook her head solemnly.

"No, he's been in there for a while. We don't know anything," she informed me.

"But that's good right?" I asked with little hope. "It means there's something to fix."

"Or it means that they're trying to find a way to tell us that the infamous Harry Potter lived twice when Voldemort tried to kill him but died when he fell to the ground doing a silly trick!" she yelled. She pulled away from Fred roughly and lifted her crying daughter from Ron's arms. Without one last look she left the waiting room with Lily.

Within the hour a few more family members and friends arrived. Most had seen the match and others were called and informed of the tragic news. Now we waited.

Ginny was still in the hospital. I was sure of it but no one wanted to bother her. She rarely watched Harry's matches since she'd become pregnant because they put too much stress on her. Watching Harry do dangerous stunts always set her on edge. I never actually believed that Harry would one day bring Ginny's greatest fear to life. I think a little part of all of us actually believed he was invincible up in the air…and so did he.

Into the second hour of waiting, Ginny carried a sleeping Lily back into the waiting room. Her face was streaked with mascara and puffy but the tears had finally stopped.

"I can't wait here anymore," she said softly. "I'm going to take Lily home. Just call me if anything changes." She turned to go without another word when a Healer entered the waiting room. She turned back around with fear and more tears welling in her eyes. She tightly held Lily to her with one arm and her other hand rested on her pregnant belly. I was afraid of what would happen if she received bad news. She was pregnant after all.

"He's going to make it." The Healer said plainly. Ginny breathed again and tears of joy fell from her cheeks. "It will be a rough couple of days. He's got a mess of potions to take daily and some very strict physical therapy but he will be able to get back on a broom in a couple months."

"He's ok?" Ginny asked. The Healer nodded and Ginny sobbed happily. Ron was at her side hugging her. The tears caused Lily to wake up crying. "He's ok baby!" Ginny exclaimed. "Daddy's ok!" She celebrated for a moment longer. "Can I see him?" she asked.

"I have to warn you Mrs. Potter, he fell at a great distance and is not in very good shape." The Healer informed her.

"It's ok. I want to see my husband." Ginny said.

"Follow me then." The Healer led Ginny and Lily away while the rest of us were happily relieved.

"Should we go after her and make sure she's ok?" Ron asked me. I nodded and we slipped after Ginny and the Healer. Ron and I stood outside of the room unsure of whether or not we should go inside. Willa slept against Ron's chest. I peered inside to see Harry lying on the bed. He smiled weakly when he saw Ginny and Lily but it looked like he was in pain. His face was still very pale and the left side of his forehead was bruised badly. Surely it was not the only bruise he had. His body was most likely a mess of black, blue, and purple. Cuts were scratched against his face and arms.

"Hey," he said meekly to them. He opened his arms for Lily. Ginny placed Lily in his arms and he tried not to wince but it was obvious it pained him. "Did you see it?" Harry asked Ginny. Ginny shook her head and Harry looked relieved. She seemed unable to form words. "How are you?" Ginny shrugged and more tears started to come. "Hey, don't cry. I'm ok." Harry said. He grabbed her hand.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I was afraid."

"I'm fine now." Harry assured her. He squeezed her hand and kissed Lily's forehead. "The doctor's say that within six months I can get back on a broom." Ginny ripped her hand away from Harry's. He winced again.

"Get back on a broom?" she asked. "After what just happened?"

"It was one fall." Harry said. "I'm not going to give up my career for one fall. I'm alive and I'll get better. Next time I'll be a bit more careful on stormy days." Ginny stared at Harry as if she didn't know him. "Come on Gin, its no big deal."

"No big deal?" Ginny asked, infuriated. "Harry you almost died!"

"But I'm alive and I'm not going to let yet another near death experience keep me from living," he informed her. Tears formed in Ginny's eyes as Lily watched her parents fight fearfully.

"You can't leave me to raise two children by myself," she informed him, defeated. "I have no problem whatsoever with Lily and I love her more than anything which is why I wanted another but I can't raise two daughters on my own Harry. Lily needs you and so does our other daughter. Don't do this to me again." Harry's eyes lit up.

"Daughter?" he asked smiling. "We're having another girl?"

"Not if you get into another accident." Ginny said. "She won't know her father."

"What would I do Gin? There's nothing left for a twenty-year-old injured Quidditch player."

"Don't give Quidditch up completely. There are plenty of safe jobs that have to do with Quidditch."

Harry looked at Lily who was resting on the bed next to him. After the hour's events she was tired. She buried her head against her father's chest.

"I'll figure it out." Harry said. I couldn't tell is he was just saying what she wanted to hear or he was really doing this for his family. Ginny smiled and leaned over to kiss him. She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed, holding onto his hand.

"Do you need anything?" she asked. Harry shook his head.

"Just you, Lily and Delilah." Harry said. Ginny laughed softly.

"No." she shook her head. "Harlow." Harry shook his head too and together they laughed. She leaned over and kissed him again.

I stepped away from the door.

"We should go." I suggested.

"Now that there's nothing to eavesdrop on?" Ron asked coyly. I smiled innocently.

"We'll come back and visit him later." I reasoned.

"Ok." Ron agreed.

x

When Ginny left the room to go to the tearoom, Ron and I headed in to see how Harry was doing. He still looked beaten up but slightly happier now that his daughter was asleep next to him and in June he would have another daughter.

"Are you really giving up Quidditch?" Ron blurted out as quietly was possible. Willa slept in my arms and Lily looked close to be woken up. Harry didn't need to ask how Ron and I knew about the deal he made with Ginny. I shook my head at Ron and gave him a look.

"I guess." Harry said. He brushed hair from Lily's face and only winced slightly.

"How are you?" I questioned, choosing to ask the more appropriate question.

"Still recovering." Harry replied. "Everything hurts. It feels like I fell from the sky." He smiled weakly at the attempt at a joke but I didn't laugh.

"That's not funny." I informed him. My eyes had begun to water. "I watched it happen. We were all afraid. You could have died. You aren't invincible you know."

"That's what they tell me." Harry said with an exasperated sigh. "How's my broom?" Harry directed his question to Ron.

"In better shape than you." Ron replied. The broom could now be used to start a fire but what Ron said was the truth. "You really did scare us all, mate. I don't know why but I didn't think it'd ever happen to you."

"Me either." Harry sighed again. "But it did."

"What are you going to do now?" Ron asked. He took Ginny's chair.

"Probably manage or something." Harry said. He didn't seem the least bit happy about it.

"You really don't have to do anything." Ron informed him. "I think you're set for life." Harry nodded.

"Would you really get back up on a broom again?" I interjected.

"Yeah, I will. In six months I will." Harry said. "Ginny won't hear of me playing pro again but the only way to ever teach Lily and the baby to play is by getting up there."

I nodded as did Ron. We were interrupted when the door opened and the manager of the Falmouth Falcons, Darren Sanders, entered. Noticing the sleeping babies, he kept his voice low.

"Quitting the team?" he asked. "You can't Harry. You're the best player we've had in a long time."

"I can't risk this happening again," he said dully as if Ginny were speaking through him.

"It was one accident." Darren said. "You can't let that keep you down. You're Harry-freakin-Potter for Merlin's sake. You were born to fly. We're prepared to make any offer necessary to keep you."

Rather than the Ginny-forced reply I expected to hear, Harry's response shocked both Ron and I.

"I want insurance that if anything were ever to happen to me that my wife and daughters would be taken care of." Harry said.

"Done." Darren said. "And whatever else you want. Harry, you rest up and then we'll meet with the lawyers and get it all settled out. Take the six months break and get back on your feet. We'll pay for physical therapy and whatever it takes to get you back to your old self again." Harry nodded. Darren smiled and gave Harry a nod before exiting the room. Ron and I both stared at Harry.

"Didn't you tell Ginny that you would find something else to do?" Ron asked.

"I told her I would figure it out and I have." Harry said. "I love that my job is flying around the sky all day. I've been doing it since I was eleven. It's the only time where I can just get lost in the game and I love that. I get that I'll have to tone down the dangerous stunts but I can't give it up. It's like me asking you to give up your paper or Hermione to give up learning. I want Lily and the baby to watch their dad play Quidditch and be proud of me, I want Ginny to think of Quidditch as a fun game like she did before we had kids. I want to teach my daughters, my goddaughter, and all of my other nieces and nephews that if you fall, you have to get right back up and try again. I want Quidditch to be the thing that keeps my family together instead of tear it apart. I won't live my life being afraid and hiding behind some clipboard of plays when I can be up in the air doing the plays."

Neither Ron nor I had anything left to say. Harry had convinced us plenty. He now had six months to convince his wife to let him get back up on a broom and play professionally again.

x

The next day, as I trailed through the grocery store, I saw Harry's fall plastered all over the covers of tabloid magazines. As proud of him as I was that he was not giving up on anything because of the fall, I couldn't help but recall that earth-shattering feeling that I felt as I watched him fall and the pain I felt as I waited to find out what was wrong. It was nothing compared to what Ginny felt but it was enough to bring on a "life is short" wake-up call. It must have brought one on for Harry as well because he was determined to live his life, rather than hide away where it was safe "if I went, I'd want my kids to remember me as someone fun and brave. I'd want to be someone they can look up to for how to live their lives."

I understood where Ginny was coming from. She was in pain to see Harry in pain and she was in pain because she nearly lost her husband. I only hoped for Harry's sake that she would come around and see things the way he did. I hoped that within six months she agreed to let the man she loved do what he loved…even if it could possibly bring pain in the end.

REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!!!!!


	25. Back to Yesterday

**a/n: sorry for the wait. This is a long chapter. This was the last one that I could come up with. the next one is an idea from a reader and I'm still accepting requests. Let me know what you think!**

**Kylie**

_It's no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then. –Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland_

A long time ago (or so it seems) there was a girl. This girl was very dedicated to learning and sometimes it came off as bossy or snobbish. The girl had two best friends; one of them was independent boy with a destiny to defeat a great evil while the other one was a gangly ginger-haired boy who was lazy and stubborn. Together the three of them made a trio of misfits. None of them quite fit in anywhere else.

Years went by and things were different for them. One was on the verge of loosing everything, including his sanity. He had a destiny to fulfill that overwhelmed him. The other was no longer gangly and he began to put forth his energy on helping his best friend. He was becoming sort of a leader. And the girl was different too. She was no longer bossy and snobbish. She was beginning to see that life was not just about books and learning but instead, the people who were in her life.

With all three of them together, it was enough to help the destined one fulfill his destiny. After what had happened the three of them were changed to the point of no return. They had become adults who would continue to change and grow.

I had changed…I was still changing and sometimes I think that I'd like to go back to the days when sticking my nose into a book was the answer for almost anything. But for the life of me, I cannot remember the girl. I know she loved books and tests excited her, she loved to get praised for doing well and was always the first one to raise her hand but she was a distant memory, like a long lost friend who would remain lost, for I am a different person now.

"…and then the brain's tentacles started to wrap around me. I pulled and pulled at them but they wouldn't come off. I thought I was done for!" Ron stood in front of an enthralled Willa as he repeated the tale. It was like a story come to life and she was very excited although she did not fully understand. Ron continued to mimic the motions of pulling a brain off of him while Willa giggled fiercely.

"Ok, little lady, it's time for bed." I hated to ruin their fun but there was a strict bedtime.

"No!" Willa shouted in protest. Ron lifted her from the couch and set her in the air.

"Come on Wil, we'll fly up there." He lifted her higher and she giggled while he carried her up to her room. I laughed and grabbed Teddy before following them up the stairs.

"Tomorrow I'll tell you about the Whomping Willow and nearly getting my leg taken off." Ron informed her as he placed her in her crib. She hurried to stand up at the side of her crib.

"No bed!" she said defiantly.

"Yes bed missy." I replied. I handed her Teddy and she threw him back out, giving Ron her sad face. I chuckled to myself.

"Maybe we can let her stay up until she falls asleep." Ron suggested, as he watched his daughter give him her sad face. I laughed out loud. She knew to appeal to Daddy because he would give in.

"Bedtime." I said again sternly. Willa pouted and prepared to begin a screaming fit. I kissed her forehead gently.

"Night baby. Tomorrow we'll have fun celebrating Daddy's birthday." I lay her down and cover up. She hadn't given up though. She began screaming while Ron said goodnight. I opened her music box and Ron shut the door after we left. Her screams echo through the door but as she got tired they would soon die out.

x

With a movie playing on the WTV screen, Ron and I rested on the couch watching it. I lay with my head in his lap and he rested his feet against the coffee table. I smiled up at him.

"An hour and ten minutes." I informed him, gesturing to the clock. He smiled. Birthdays were one of his favorite things in the world.

"Twenty-one," he said, running a hand through his messy ginger hair. "I can't decide if I feel young or old." I knew exactly what he meant. It was that feeling where you weren't quite sure if you should feel young because you were just starting your twenties or old because so much had happened in the past.

I sat up and kissed him in an effort to make him feel better. He smiled into the kiss and returned it eagerly. His hands moved to my back and he began to pull my top off as I worked at the buttons of his shirt. He trailed kisses down my neck and then brought his mouth back to mine. This was the way he most definitely wanted to begin celebrating his twenty-first year.

x

"Good morning!" Ron announced as he descended the stairs dressed in a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt with a decorative pattern across it. After last night…and then again this morning he seemed to be in a much better mood.

"Morn!" Willa shouted from her highchair. She seemed to have forgotten her anger at us last night for putting her to bed…as she always does. She wore a white dress with pink hearts scattered decoratively across and a pair of white leggings. She smiled happily for her father as he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Happy Birthday." I said yet again to him. I wore a black dress with white flowers embroidered into the hem and neckline. He smiled at me and wrapped his arms around my waist while I prepared breakfast.

"Thank you my love," he said. He kissed my cheek and then my lips before beginning to pick in his birthday breakfast. I laughed and shook my head. Today I would allow it.

As we sat down to breakfast a loud pecking sound came from the window. I opened the kitchen window and a large brown owl flew in and landed on my counter. It stuck its leg out to Ron where a letter was attached.

"I thought everyone had gone too high-tech for birthday cards by owl post." Ron noted as the owl flew off and he was left with a letter in his hand. Ron turned it over in his hands where the Hogwarts seal was. He curiously turned it around again. It looked strangely like a letter he and I had both received ten years ago. He looked at me but I shrugged.

"Are you sure you graduated?" I asked in a joking tone. "Maybe they want you back." Ron laughed and tore open his letter. A long letter penned in emerald green ink was inside. Ron began to read to himself until finally he looked up with a goofy smile on his face. "What?" I urged eager for the secret of the mysterious letter.

"They want me back. I didn't graduate." Ron answered with the straightest face he could muster. I laughed.

"Seriously?" I pressed. He smiled even bigger.

"Apparently Dumbledore does want me back…for the day." Ron answered. "He wants me, the owner of the International Gazette company, to go and speak to the journalism students."

"Journalism?" I asked, tearing the letter from his hands to read it.

"Yep." Ron answered. "They have a journalism class that McGonagall teaches. It's all about wizard journalism and they take care of the Herald's articles." Ron seemed beyond happy now. It had been him to start the Herald and eventually that branched out to the Magical Gazette and then the International Gazette. It was him that they wanted to go back and speak to the students. I finished the letter and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"This is amazing!" I declared. Ron lifted me off my feet and spun me around. He was really happy.

x

The rest of the day went on and Ron enjoyed himself more and more. It started with a walk to the beach after breakfast, and then to the park where both Willa and Ron enjoyed themselves on the swings. For dinner we stopped at the ShoreHouse where Paul had a cake for Ron and we sang to him. Willa helped him blow the candles out and then they devoured the cake.

Ron retold the story of the great wizard Sirius Black (including how he almost took Ron's leg off to get to Peter Pettigrew) to Willa before she protested her bedtime. Tonight she was slightly more rebellious. She tried to run away from us. After Willa was put to bed, Ron and I sat outside drinking wine and talking about what he would say in two weeks time to the journalism students.

Our night ended just as it had the night before and nights before that. I fell asleep in Ron's arms, feeling safe and comfortable as always.

x

Two weeks and a day from Ron's birthday we awoke at an early hour to prepare to go to Hogwarts. I offered to come along when Ron expressed his nervous concerns about speaking to the students. We had originally planned to leave Willa with Gabby but we thought that she should come see Hogwarts and all its amazement.

I dressed in a deep red tunic with black leggings and flats although part of me felt that I should dig through the attic's junk and find my Hogwarts robes. As I clipped a necklace around my neck I turned to see Ron fiddling with his tie. I hurried to help him.

"You'll be fine. These kids look up to you because of all you've accomplished." I tightened his tie and wrapped my arms around him.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Ron said. "I'm nothing special so what if I disappoint them because I'm not this great business guy like they expect."

"Ron, Dumbledore has his reasons for everything. He wanted you to come back and speak because you're just like them. You're someone they can relate to and understand what to do from. They couldn't get that from some business guy." I smiled at him and something clicked in his mind.

"Mama!" Willa ran into the room. She was dressed in her signature purple color and her favorite purple Uggs. She reached for my hand and began pulling me.

"We'll meet you down stairs." I said to him while Willa led me to her playhouse in her room.

After Willa showed me her stuffed animals sleeping soundly ("Bed!") we headed downstairs to get things ready for our trip to Hogwarts. As I slung my purse over my shoulder and lifted Willa's diaper bag up Ron came down the stairs. He was no longer dressed up nicely. Instead he wore a pair of jeans and a Chudley Cannon t-shirt. I raised my eyebrows in question.

"You said that Dumbledore wanted me not because I'm a business man but because I'm someone they can relate to." Ron said. "And I'm going to show them that I am just like them." I smiled and kissed him, saying no more. I was time to leave.

I held on to Willa as we Apparated to the edge of Hogwarts grounds. Ron joined us moments later with his briefcase in hand. It looked slightly silly with his outfit choice but then again, that was Ron. Willa squirmed in my arms while Ron and I stood, staring at the castle. The last time I had been back here was before Ginny left. It seemed so familiar but yet it wasn't. There was so many things I hadn't explored while I was here…there was so much that had changed…

"Oi! Wat do ye think yer doin'?"

But yet there were so many things that stayed the same…

Hagrid got closer and soon realized that it was not students escaping off to Hogsmede but two who were no longer students. I smiled. Hagrid had been in France with a sick Madam Maxine for over a year, waiting until her sickness subsided. This had prevented him from a lot of things. He had missed out on a great deal in our lives.

"Ron? Hermione?" Hagrid smiled. His eyes began to water as he pulled open the gate.

"Hi-hi!" Willa announced her presence from behind my leg. She looked sort of shy but also inquisitive about the giant.

"Oh my." Hagrid sobbed, looking at Willa.

"When did you get back?" Ron asked, smiling. "Is Madam Maxine ok?" Hagrid was still sobbing.

"She's gettin' better. She's comin' to live here." Hagrid said. He looked from Ron to me to Willa. "I can't believe yeh had a baby. She looks just like yeh." Hagrid knelt down and offered Willa a hand. She grabbed onto one of Hagrid's fingers curiously. "What's yer name?" Hagrid asked her.

"Me!" she exclaimed. Hagrid chuckled.

"This is Willa." I said.

"She's somethin'." Hagrid said. "I hear Harry and Ginny have one too." Ron and I nodded.

"Her name is Lily and they have another one on the way." I informed.

"Yeh all are growin' up too fast." Hagrid said. "It seems like only yesterday yeh were crossin' the lake as firs' years."

"She'll be here in ten more years." I said.

"Yeah, I can't wait ter see that." Hagrid said. He smiled and began to lead the way up to the castle.

Inside, McGonagall was waiting for us with a smile on her face. She watched as Ron raced with Willa to the entrance to the Great Hall. Willa giggled loudly as she reached it before Ron. He pretended to look defeated.

"Hello." I said brightly to McGonagall. Something about being here made me feel slightly like a child again.

"It's wonderful to see you." McGonagall said. She took in all of the changes in appearance of Ron and I. She smiled at Willa whom she had met once before.

"Welcome again!" from the staircase Dumbledore smiled. "Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and welcome for the first time Miss Weasley." Willa smiled at Dumbledore. She stuck out her hand like Hagrid had done for her. Dumbledore knelt down to shake her hand. He winked at her and shyly she hid behind my leg. "We have two classes, one in ten minutes and another on later this afternoon. I trust you received all the details in the letter." Dumbledore looked to Ron.

"Yes, sir, I've got everything." Ron said. I think being back here somehow made us feel as if we were students again. Sir, ma'am, professor…

"Splendid." Dumbledore said with a cheerful smile. "We've expanded the newspaper room, you'll appreciate it." Dumbledore motioned for us to follow. We waved to Hagrid and promised to stop in and see him before we left. Willa allowed me to take her back into my arms as we trailed up the many steps.

Dumbledore opened the door to the Herald office. It was at least twice the size that I remembered it. More desks had been added and each of them had a Longbottom Magictronics computer on it. There was a blackboard in front where sketches and article ideas were printed in chalk.

"Wow." Ron said. Willa squirmed in my arms again. I set her down and she hurried to sit at one of the desks like she sees Daddy do at work.

"Mama!" she called. I gathered some paper and a pen for her to scribble on while Dumbledore and Ron conversed.

It wasn't long before the room began to fill up with students. Willa and I sat in the back and observed. The students joked around with each other and laughed, some discussed the paper. They all wore school robes with a symbol, signifying the house they belonged to. I was surprised to see that there were even some green and silver among the crowd. It surprised me to see some students with M-phones out.

McGonagall entered the room and shut the door. Everyone took their seats quickly. From the desk where Willa and I sat, I almost felt as if I should take my wand and books out.

"Phones away and attention to the front." McGonagall said. "You can be sure, Mr. Doyle, that if I continue to see your M-phone you shall not see it until the end of the semester." A boy in Slytherin robes quickly shoved his phone into his pocket. "Now, as I mentioned yesterday, Ronald Weasley of the International Gazette is here to speak with you. For those of you who wish to pursue journalism further, listen and take notes. For those of you who wish to choose other fields, listen and take notes. Mr. Weasley started the Herald and it branched out from there. Perhaps some of you will be inspired to start something great while you are still here at Hogwarts." She turned to Ron and gestured that he had the floor. Ron was blushing furiously and I had the urge to giggle as if we were still in school and he was called upon to talk.

"Mornin'." Ron started awkwardly. The look on his face made it plain that he wished he wore the nice clothes. "How many of you are seventh years?" Ron started. His voice was not as steady as it usually was when he commanded a room at the Gazette. Half of the class raised their hands. "And how many of you seventh years plan to work at the Gazette when you graduate?" Most of the seventh years raised their hand. Ron looked at a loss for what to say. I knew that he had rehearsed the topics he would go over this morning but he was too nervous. Luckily a Gryffindor raised her hand.

"Is it true that you started the Gazette because the Prophet told a lie about Harry Potter?" she questioned. Ron seemed pleased to answer this question.

"That's partly it." Ron said. "The Prophet had a history of making up lies and that one set me over the edge. I turned the job down there and I had a lot of help from family and friends to start the Magical Gazette." Another hand shot up in the air. Ron pointed to a Hufflepuff boy.

"Is it a lot different at the Magical Gazette compared to here?" he asked.

"Yes and no." Ron answered thoughtfully. "Yes because you're working on a twice daily deadline and no because you use the same things you learned here to help you there." More hands shot in the air and Ron pointed to a Ravenclaw boy.

"Is there anything that I can do now to set myself up for a guaranteed job?" he asked.

"When we first hire you, we hire you as an intern and then you work your way up. To be honest the more you do during your time as an intern determines how fast you'll move up. In addition to having a good clip book of your articles and willing to write even the smallest articles for a byline. Besides that you're pretty much guaranteed an intern spot if you've been on the Herald. Just know that 'I'll do it' is a phrase you should memorize." The boy smiled and nearly everyone was raising their hands now. Ron was smiling as he picked on another person.

Willa had long since abandoned her drawing and was watching her father as if he were telling one of his past stories.

As the class came to an end, some darted out as soon as they were dismissed while others lagged around to ask more questions.

"Have you been to every Gazette office?" a boy with wide eyes asked, he seemed very eager to learn anything he could.

"I haven't been to the one in Rome yet but a couple months ago I visited the New York one." Ron answered.

"Do you work in the California one?" a girl asked. Ron nodded.

"Yes, well, the one in San Diego. We've decided to get another one going in LA and we've got a whole team of people working on spreading them through the states." Ron replied.

Some of the girls crowded around me with Willa. They gushed over how adorable she was and she spoke in baby gibberish to them. I was being questioned next.

"I saw the article in Witch Weekly about the tea party for House-elves. That's so amazing what you do. Are you really writing another book on top of everything else you have to do?" a Gryffindor girl asked.

"I'm going to try." I admitted. "It may not be out too soon but I think it would be a good idea to get the voices heard."

"It's brilliant," another girl said. This one held Willa. I kept an eye on my daughter and listened as she spoke. "The house-elves do so much for us and we take it for granted. I swear if the house-elves went on strike and did nothing, students here would finally appreciate their work."

"That's the kind of thinking that brings upon change." I said. "You could start a Hogwarts branch of HLF and change things here. It only takes one person to start a movement of change." To my surprise the girl appeared inspired and I felt less like a student, more like the woman who is trying to change the world with baby steps. That is, of course, until McGonagall walked over and dismissed the girls to their next class. They waved to Willa and left me with McGonagall.

"You and Ron have a couple hours until the next class. If you would like, you are welcome to wait here. Students will pop in from time to time as they have free classes but they won't disturb you," she said. I felt like a rebellious student as I responded to her.

"Actually, we were thinking about taking Willa on a tour through the school." I said. I smiled innocently.

"Of course." McGonagall responded. She smiled at Willa before turning to leave the room.

As the last student left Ron, Willa, and I were left in the room again. He was smiling happily as I looked around the room. Memories from seventh year flooded my mind.

"Shall we go?" Ron questioned. He lifted Willa from the ground and didn't wait for an answer. "We'll go see the Fat Lady and maybe we'll see Nearly Headless Nick along the way. Don't tease him too much or he'll loose his head." Ron laughed a little. "And then we'll go see Dobby, you'll like him. He's a really cool house-elf. And I'll show you the Quidditch pitch where you'll be saving goals one day; and we'll go see Hagrid's Hut – be glad that you can't eat the rock cakes – ; and we'll go see…" Ron went on and on about everything there was to possibly see in Hogwarts. Willa watched him as he spoke with an interested look on her face as if he was telling one of his stories.

So we began our journey through Hogwarts. Willa was very adamant that she would walk so she walked by Ron and I.

"Hello there!" Nick said to Willa after they were introduced. Willa was incredibly amazed as she tried to hold her hand out for Nick to shake. Insulted he glided away in a hurry. "Genes," he muttered as he left. "Had to pass down the insult genes."

Willa wasn't fazed by Nick's sudden departure. "Bad!" she shouted at his lack of manners but there was a whole castle at her disposal. There was so much to see and so much to learn. When the portraits on the walls spoke to her she became fascinated and started a conversation in only the gibberish she knew. Once in a while she said a recognizable word but she imitated Ron's gestures as he told stories.

Dobby was happy to see Willa and he made me sign every copy of the books he had of mine…again! We were happy to see him as well.

As we were on our way to go see Hagrid, Willa noticed one specific knight moving through the portraits and shouting things out. Willa trotted after him pointing.

"I'll beg you not point M'lady," he said. And he continued to travel through pictures, keeping Willa's interest. She followed after him to the point where Ron had to chase after her down a corridor. I laughed and waited at the end.

"I believe you should be in class right now," said a voice from behind me in a slow snarl so that he pronounced every word carefully. I froze, for a second believing that I was actually in trouble.

_You don't go here anymore, Hermione. Don't let him intimidate you._ I told myself. I spun around and Snape's eyebrows rose in surprise. I felt like running off to class but I had no books to hug to myself and comfort me.

"H-hello Professor." I said. I smiled, trying to feel like the woman I was but instead I felt like a girl who was about to get in trouble.

"Miss Granger." Snape said, trying to keep his cool. "I thought we got rid of you."

"You did but Dumbledore invited Ron back to talk to the journalism students." I said quickly as if it were an answer to a question in class. "And it's Weasley now." I felt as if I were correcting a teacher on something that I knew from a book…but I knew he already knew that. At that moment Willa came running back and she grabbed onto my leg, laughing.

"Mama!" she exclaimed with a giggle." Ron followed. The smile fell from his face as he saw Snape. Willa saw the exchange and grabbed my leg. Snape took in the scene and his face remained expressionless.

"Running in the hallways is grounds for loosing points. Be glad that you don't belong here anymore." Snape said. "But when more Weasleys start pouring in, be sure that they are aware about running. I won't hesitate to take points." He turned on his heel and left. He could have taken about a hundred points from Gryffindor right then and there, leaving me to go off and do a long potions essay. Ron looked angry. It seemed as if any moment Fred and George would pop out of no where and insist that they had a way to get back at Snape for being a jerk which I would refuse, of course.

The three of us were quiet after that meeting. Willa noticed the tone and kept quiet but she was beginning to get tired. Ron and I still felt like we were on our way to visit Hagrid and meet up with Harry after class. It was a strange feeling after everything that had happened since leaving.

x

"Welcome, welcome!" Hagrid said cheerfully. The smile returned to my face. Willa cheerfully hurried in to see the big black dog that was now old and lazy. Fang perked up for Willa and licked her face. She giggled.

Visiting with Hagrid felt just like old times. We laughed, Hagrid made his rock cakes, and we relived past memories for Willa. One of the only differences was that we updated Hagrid on our lives now and knew we wouldn't get in trouble for being at Hagrid's when we should be somewhere else.

"'ow come Harry didn't come down with yeh?" Hagrid questioned. "I was going ter visit him when I was in France by I never found the time.

"He's still having trouble getting around." Ron answered as he knelt down to pet Fang, an old friend.

"What do ye mean?" Hagrid questioned. He looked like he might burst out into tears at any moment. It occurred to me how long Hagrid was actually gone and how much he had missed.

"Yeah," Ron replied. "He's got physical therapy in a month but it's taken a lot out of him to really move. The poor bloke just stays at home because he can't move."

"Can't move?" Hagrid asked. His face looked tearful, almost like Willa's before she begins a tantrum.

"Didn't you hear about the accident?" Ron asked. Hagrid shook his head as thick tears fell over his cheeks. "He crashed his broom in a match. He was pretty banged up and was in the hospital for two weeks. They finally let him out a couple days ago. He's getting better though." Ron looked helpless. Cheering his daughter up after a tantrum was different than trying to console a half-giant sobbing.

"Harry!" Hagrid sobbed. "In an accident!" I put an arm as far around Hagrid as it would go and he cried. "Why didn't I know?" Hagrid questioned.

"It was only in the news for a few days. Some young celebrity went into rehab the next day and got the headlines." Ron answered. "Harry's getting better now, though." Hagrid sat up a little and wiped his eyes.

"I think I'll take a visit ter go see him." Hagrid said. "Maybe I can do something for him and Ginny. Wha's Harry going ter do when he gets better?"

"He's going to fly again." Ron replied. He seemed to have no restraint in bearing all this news.

And Hagrid went ballistic. It might have been worse than what Ginny's going to do once she finds out. As calmly as I could, I explained the situation and politely declined a cup of tea filled with tears. Just like old times.

x

Ron took Willa to go change her before his next speech. He was ten times as confident as he was this morning. He knew what he was going to do and that these kids were going to listen to him. I pulled myself into a sitting position on a step. I watched as the Hogwarts kids laughed and joked around me. Some did homework and some chatted on their M-phones…

…and I knew I wasn't one of them. Soon they would be in my position but I would never again be back where they were. Snape still scared me a little and McGonagall made me feel a little younger when she spoke to me the same way she did back then but I was a different person. Coming back to Hogwarts was something I needed to do. At first I thought I wanted to find that eleven-year-old girl that had her life changed here but she was truly gone and now I found the woman that was left sitting here.

Smiling I rose from my seat. Memories flashed before my eyes. The grounds, the Quidditch Pitch, the tree we sat under, the castle. It was something I never wanted to get rid of but now I knew it was from yesterday and I had to live in today as the changed person I am.

REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	26. It Was Fate

**an: Hello...yes I'm still here and not finished. I know it's been forever and half of the readers I had probably aren't reading this anymore. But I will finish! I just have a really busy schedule with work and trying to save my money for moving to California! **

**This will be the last chapter of California Bound -but there is one more story! This chapter is really short and just explaining the position that everyone's life is in at the moment it's several months ahead from the previous chapters. The next story, Growing Up A Weasley, will be posted shortly after this last chapter is up. It will fully explain what happened to each character. THe first chapter is Willa, then it goes to the rest of Ron and Hermione's children, Ron and Hermione, Harry Ginny and their children...and so on until I feel like I've said everything that there is to say about these characters. **

**So I hope you enjoy the next part of the story and thank you to all the readers and reviewers who urge me to keep writing!!**

**Thanks!**

**Always,  
Kylie**

_Meeting you was fate, becoming your friend was a choic__e, but falling in love with you…I had no control over._

I wouldn't know how to begin if I were to describe my life but I think if I had to start somewhere I'd probably start with that life changing moment when I was eleven and I happened upon a compartment with two strange boys inside. It was that moment of serendipity that I began the long path that led me through tears and love to now when that gangly, ginger-haired, freckled face boy and I share a daughter together who is a puzzle with pieces of the two of us and some pieces that are all her.

Willa Elizabeth had grown so much since Ron and I first brought her home from the hospital. She was walking and talking and holding a conversation with me. It was incredible to see how she had developed. Her light brown hair fell at her chin and her blue eyes sparkled with excitement whenever she discovered something new. She wasn't a baby anymore, she was my little girl. The most amazing experience of my life was watching her grow up from a tiny little baby to this beautiful little girl. The stages of her life were stages in my life. We were both growing up together. She was learning to play and learn while I was learning to be a mother.

Sitting in the sand at the beach, I watched her run away from the coming wave and following the water back over and over again. The smile on her face and the giggles that echoed over the crashing waves was enough to make me smile. Ron, running back and forth with her, made me giggle.

He was the same as ever but fatherhood had definitely changed him somehow. His short ginger hair was not affected by the wind blowing through the beach. His blue eyes sparkled in the same way that Willa's did. He was in good shape and I gave partial credit to myself for enforcing the healthy eating. It was days like these, where he could put the Gazette aside and spend the day with Willa and I that he enjoyed that most. Days like these that didn't stress him or make him come home and collapse on the couch, really brought out the twenty-two year old in him. Ron had become many things in a short period of time. He was a dad, a hard worker, and a husband.

I was lucky to have Ron and Willa, each with their own individual personalities that made me smile, in my life.

The rest of our friends and family were pretty lucky themselves.

Harry and Ginny had two beautiful little girls, Lily-Lyn and Emmaline Faye. They lived exactly where they wanted to live in their beautiful Paris home, and they both had the jobs that they'd always wanted. They've had their problems just like the rest of us; Harry spent a month in their London flat, alone, after he told Ginny he was going to continue to be a Quidditch player. They were back together again and working on their relationship.

Fred and Angelina finally had their first child. Gabriel Frederick. They were ecstatic new parents and would give anything to their little one. Molly had been impatient for more grandchildren but Fred and Angelina were on their own time schedule.

George and Alicia were a very happy family of four with Amber and Autumn. Their daughters were growing and learning each day. They would soon be a family of five, with their third child on the way.

Bill and Fleur had two little smart children on their hands. Lex and Cilley were growing so fast, already proving that they would be strong and brilliant people just like their parents.

Charlie and Alison had a lot to handle with Max who, even at a young age, developed a liking to Quidditch. He was just like his dad. Everyone had high hopes for him as a Quidditch player in Hogwarts and beyond.

Percy and Penelope had a mini Percy. Greg dressed exactly like I pictured Percy as a child and he was very serious about his rules. They were expecting their second child and all bets were on that this one would be just like Penelope.

Tonks and Lupin had one unique daughter. Penny was one of a kind and with parents like hers, it was expected. The purple haired little girl had a mind of her own.

Luna and Neville were also expecting a second child and they were the happiest people in the world. Both only children, wanted to give Phinny a big family so that he would not be alone like they were.

Sasha and Trey had a beautiful little baby, Harlow Katherine Parker. They had been waiting for their chance at parenthood after everyone around them had their turn. They took the knowledge they gained from watching their adoptive family's (the Weasleys) children and applied it to their daughter. They were still learning but they loved every second of it.

As for my parents, they were starting to find their own happiness with their significant other's. I was happy for them but their happiness was leading us in different directions. Mum took trips everywhere with Louis and Dad stayed at his home with Bonnie. I made a promise to myself that my children and I would never have that kind of relationship. My parents taught me what I didn't want to do.

The heads of the Weasley clan, Molly and Arthur were happy as ever. They had a lot of grandchildren to spoil and more on the way, Even after all the years and seven kids, they were still happily in love.

x

I lifted myself off the sand and placed a hand on my sixth month pregnant bump as Ron and Willa ran towards me.

"Ready to go to the ShoreHouse?" Ron asked. He wrapped his arms around me and rested his hands over my bump where our son was growing.

"Yes, I'm starving." I said.

"Me too!" Willa exclaimed. She giggled happily and started to run over the sand. "Race Daddy!" she exclaimed. Ron laughed and slowly started running after her. I smiled and watched.

x

Yes, that's exactly where I'd start. The moment when I locked eyes with him and told him that there was dirt on his nose. It was because of that moment, that I made the choice to be his friend and from there my heart did its own thing. Falling in love with him, led me to this moment where we had a daughter and were expecting a son…and still very much in love.

REVIEW PLEASE!! Look for Growing Up A Weasley...to be posted any moment now!


End file.
